As part of the steps to reduce regulation, the joint proposal by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Environmental Protection for green licensing was approved this morning. The green licensing revolution, led by the Minister of Environmental Protection, MK Amir Peretz, aligns with what is customary in Europe and will lead to more efficient regulation and thus also to encouraging growth. The plan, submitted jointly with the Prime Minister's Office, constitutes the first installment of the Prime Minister's plan to reduce regulation in Israel, which is being formulated by the Director General of the Prime Minister's Office, Harel Loker. At its weekly meeting, the government held a special discussion on the subject of reducing government regulation.
According to the plan, business owners will receive permits for predetermined time periods that are valid for seven years, instead of shorter periods (one year, three years, etc.) as is customary today, thus giving them greater certainty regarding their business activities. Instead of working with several bodies and obtaining several different permits, which takes up a lot of time and resources, the ministry will grant one green license that includes most environmental permits. The ministry will deepen supervision of large factories that have a greater potential for pollution. Streamlining regulation will reduce the costs of factories and save them resources. This move, which already exists in the most advanced European countries, will increase the competitiveness of Israeli businesses in the global market, encourage growth, and enable lower prices for the Israeli consumer.
Today, every business owner is required to obtain the following approvals from the Ministry of Environmental Protection: approval from a representative of the Ministry of Environmental Protection for a business license, an air emission permit, a toxics permit, a hazardous waste disposal permit, a discharge into the sea or dumping permit, each of which is valid for a different period of time, a fact that requires business owners to return and obtain each of the approvals from different elements in the ministry and at different time frames. As mentioned, most of the permits will be consolidated into one approval that will be valid for a longer and permanent period of time. In addition, there are additional regulators besides the Ministry of Environmental Protection that sometimes demand conflicting requirements from factories. This results in excess costs that are ultimately passed on to the public. Green licensing is expected to regulate the contradictions between the various regulators in the environmental field.
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The principles of green licensing have been discussed for more than a year between the Ministry of Environmental Protection in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy, environmental organizations, and the CEO of the Manufacturers Association, Amir Hayek. With the approval of the government's decision, the Ministry of Environmental Protection will lead a series of legislative amendments to regulate the process.
Prime Minister Netanyahu emphasized that "reducing and simplifying regulation is a strategic goal for the State of Israel. Regulation in Israel needs to undergo fundamental change, we are working on this, and today steps that we are taking in this direction were presented to the government - both at the Securities Authority and the Ministry of Environmental Protection. Minister Peretz and the Prime Minister's Office worked together to simplify, reduce, and ease the regulatory issue. This is an excellent example and the first step in the regulatory plan that we are preparing.""
Minister of Environmental Protection, MK Amir Peretz: "The new licensing is an environmental leap to the level of the European directive and will enable green growth, effective regulation, and strict protection of environmental quality. We will not compromise on environmental requirements. We are taking a step that, on the one hand, will increase supervision and monitoring of factories and, at the same time, will reduce bureaucracy in obtaining environmental permits. One licensing will include most of the approvals and will be valid for the long term to allow stability and a planning horizon for the industry.""
Director General of the Prime Minister's Office, Harel Loker: "The green licensing process is the first step within the Prime Minister's plan to reduce regulation. The process will allow businesses to arrange all licenses in a One Stop Shop, in an efficient and convenient manner, and will create certainty and industrial peace for them for years while protecting the environment. Certainty in the business world is oil in the wheels of the economy, and from the perspective of the Prime Minister's Office, we are adopting the process led by Minister Peretz as good news and a model to follow for other ministries and regulators."
