Interview: Israel seeks cooperation with China in climate innovation -- envoy

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Israel looks forward to deepening its cooperation with China in climate innovation, Israel's special envoy for climate change has said.

"We are seeking to strengthen cooperation in climate innovation between Israel and China as both countries can benefit a lot," Gideon Behar, Israel's special envoy for climate change and sustainability, told Xinhua at the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change being held in the Egyptian coastal city of Sharm El-Sheikh.

He said climate cooperation provides "a huge economic opportunity" and helps uncover new ways, technologies and ideas to mitigate climate impacts and achieve an energy transition.

Behar noted the existing cooperation between Israel and China in water and agriculture.

"We want to extend this cooperation to other areas such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, smart mobility, energy storage, and other energy fields," he said.

Regarding Israel's participation in the meeting, he said the Israeli pavilion "showcases practical solutions to the climate crisis, and we believe that only through collaboration (can) we make ourselves more resilient to climate change."

Behar said Israel has been sharing its experiences dealing with climate change with other countries for years.

"We have our international aid agency that works, for instance, in Africa for more than 60 years in aiding and transferring technologies," he added.

The official said Israel supports the Egyptian stance on climate change, conveyed by the slogan for the meeting -- "together for implementation."

The COP27 opened on Nov. 6 in Sharm El-Sheikh in hopes of turning global climate finance pledges into action. During the two-week conference, more than 40,000 participants from over 190 countries and dozens of international and regional organizations will seek possible solutions to one of the biggest global challenges.