Podcast transcript
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Climate change podcast transcript
Huseyin: Hello and welcome to the Humanitarian Leadership Academy Podcast, the platform where we engage in discussions with experts, leaders and practitioners in the humanitarian and development sectors. We discuss issues that affect people’s lives, and together we explore solutions and experiences that can make a real difference.
I’m Huseyin Arslan, Senior lead Work and Leadership Development at the Humanitarian Leadership Academy. I’m delighted to have you with us for this new episode. When we talk about climate change, the first things that often spring to mind are rising temperatures or natural disasters.
But the truth is that the impacts of climate change are far more far-reaching than that. It affects food security, water resources, health and the economy, and even communities’ ability to withstand crises. Today, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, these threats are becoming more complex due to the intertwined political, humanitarian and environmental circumstances that create a different reality, making adaptation to climate change a necessity, rather than merely an option for the future.
In this episode, we will try to understand the dimensions of climate change in Palestine, its most significant impacts on people and different communities, and how local institutions, organisations and researchers are working to develop solutions and mechanisms for adaptation. It is my honour today to welcome my distinguished guest, Dr Jad Ishaq from the Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ), who is one of Palestine’s leading experts in the field of the environment and natural resources.
Could you tell us a bit more about yourself, Professor Jad? Please go ahead.
Jad: Thank you. I am currently the Director General of the Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem. My interest in environmental issues began whilst I was working at Bethlehem University.
In 1985, we organised the first environmental conference to address environmental changes in Palestine. After 1987, following the First Intifada, I worked in Beit Sahour on household economics and promoting sustainability for the people there, which had become an important part of the Palestinian struggle.
In 1991, when the peace conference began, I was part of the technical teams at Orient House, and I was selected to chair the environmental working group in the multilateral talks.
We participated as Palestinians; the Palestinian delegation took part in the Earth Summit held in Rio, under the chairmanship of the late Farouk Kaddoumi. This brought to my attention the issue of climate change and what is happening in the world.
In 2020, a group of six organisations formed the Agricultural Coalition—or rather, the Coalition of Agricultural Organisations. We adopted a programme called ‘Environmental and Climate Justice’, and we worked on it from 2021 to 2025.
The aim was to create a platform to address what is happening in the Palestinian territories, as there is an intrinsic link between the occupation, Israeli policies and the deterioration of the Palestinian environment.
Through this programme, we sought to raise awareness amongst young people and women about the importance of climate change. We carried out interventions in various communities to help them cope with and adapt to climate change.
This work is still ongoing, and I believe that climate change is a global scourge. If we do not tackle global climate change, humanity and the Earth itself are at risk.
As the IPCC says: “We are in the last five minutes before the clock strikes twelve.” In my view, we have reached the stage where we must decide what to do. This decision is not limited to nations, although it is indeed the nations that bear the burden and must take the lead.
However, tackling climate change and adapting to it is a collective effort that requires everyone’s participation. We must not wait for intervention solely from the authorities, the government or the state, especially as this issue has become a quintessentially political one.
This became apparent following Trump’s election. He withdrew from the climate change treaty, and Israel followed suit. In the negotiations, from Rio right up to COP28, it was very clear that the conflict centred on who pollutes the least.
Unfortunately, the two countries currently responsible for the most pollution are the United States and China. The US and other European countries – the nations of the Western world – have, since the beginning of the Renaissance, exploited natural resources, particularly fossil fuels, and have contributed enormously to turning the Earth into a greenhouse.
This has formed a layer of greenhouse gases; when sunlight reaches this layer, the Earth— the Earth is unable to release these hot gases back into space; they remain within the stratosphere and the troposphere.
This has led to the depletion of the ozone layer, and consequently we have witnessed global changes. It is the Third World countries that are paying the price, as they are unable to cope.
And yet, whilst the Third World countries are not responsible for climate change, they are currently attempting to adapt to it. Polluters do not want to pay their fair share; the solution must not be at the level of individual countries, but rather at a global level.
I believe that the European Union and the NAFTA countries in particular – Denmark, Norway and Sweden – have made great strides in adapting to climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions, and have come to rely on alternative energy sources such as wind power, hydroelectric power and so on, and have reduced emissions from fossil fuels.
Unfortunately, however, the US remains stubbornly set on its course, and it is very clear that Trump wants to increase the use of fossil fuels, which are the main source of pollution on the planet.
Huseyin: Thank you very much, Professor. I’d like to move on to a question about the implications of climate change in the Palestinian context, particularly given that, if we look at Gaza, it has been at war for the last three years.
As an organisation, how do you view the effects of climate change in the Palestinian context? What is the environmental, social and economic reality?
Jad: I believe that Israel is a clear example of how political conflict and war affect climate change.
I’ll start with Gaza first, because this is a very important issue; we need to understand its dimensions, and then we’ll move on to apply this to Palestine as a whole. But, taking Gaza as an example, the Gaza war resulted in more than sixty-two million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
If we compare this with Sweden – Sweden as a whole produces forty-four; New Zealand, two hundred and thirty; Iceland, thirty-three; Estonia, eighteen; and Costa Rica, eighteen and five. The war in Gaza has caused widespread destruction.
The missiles that—that fell on Gaza amounted to more than two thousand tonnes of ammunition. This has resulted in – in addition to the demolition and destruction of homes – the loss of the potential to sequester one hundred and two million tonnes of carbon dioxide through agricultural activity in the Gaza Strip.
This is equivalent, for example, to 414,500 dunums of woodland.
Consequently, this has led to immense losses. Of course, they have destroyed the agricultural sector, cut off the wells, and removed the roads, in addition to the human losses.
Consequently, the Gaza Strip is a very important issue. And I would like to mention in this regard that the International Criminal Court issued a decision—an important decision for the Palestinian people—on 23 July 2025.
An advisory opinion on states’ obligations regarding climate change. Of course, the report is a voluminous one, but as far as we are concerned, the advisory opinion stated that environmental obligations are not suspended during armed conflicts; consequently, the occupying power is not exempt from its climate responsibilities.
As Palestinians, we must stand by this. Legally speaking, Israel is obliged to cease environmental violations, provide guarantees that they will not be repeated, and pay compensation. This is set out in paragraph 19 of the advisory opinion.
Consequently, we face a major challenge. Yes, I understand that Palestine will be one of the regions in the Middle East most affected by climate change due to the occupation.
But the occupation must bear responsibility, and we must demand that they be held accountable regardless of the imbalance of power. We are the rightful owners. The Palestinian environment is being destroyed, and we know who is destroying it; they must bear responsibility exactly as the ICC’s position was.
The ICJ, regarding the Wall, stated: ‘Israel must remedy the damage, remove the wall, provide compensation and restore the situation to its original state.’
As for the West Bank, unfortunately, Israel has seized all the land there. Currently, most people are suffering because of the checkpoints.
So we’ve estimated the cost of these checkpoints, which have increased from 567 to 910 following the events of 7 October 2023.
We estimate that this results in 100 million hours spent at checkpoints by the Palestinian people in the West Bank. This results in $452 million in economic losses, as well as an additional $300 million to $230 million in fuel costs due to waiting at the checkpoints.
As for climate change, this is equivalent to 230,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere, exacerbating climate change. Olive tree felling. Israel has recently felled the equivalent of 25,320 olive trees.
We have calculated how much carbon dioxide these trees sequestered. They sequestered approximately 101 metric tonnes annually.
This results in losses estimated at 1.2 million dollars to the Palestinian economy, as Palestinians rely on olives for food and as a source of income for the agricultural sector.
So, the felling of these trees, in addition to something I can only estimate, is just the tip of the iceberg. Israel is currently encroaching on the West Bank through what I call ‘asphalt jungles’, the black forests. As you walk around the West Bank, you can see Israeli bulldozers working day and night to build massive roads.
These roads will not serve us; their sole purpose is to facilitate settlement expansion. These ‘asphalt jungles’ will increase the ground temperature, which in turn will increase evaporation, leading to a rise in air temperature and, consequently, a decrease in rainfall.
We must take these factors into account and hold the occupation accountable, because it has not consulted us and is implementing these plans without consulting us.
Huseyin: Thank you for highlighting these difficulties. I have a question regarding adaptation and response, particularly as an organisation concerned with climate change and your work in this sector.
What are the most important initiatives currently being undertaken by civil society organisations, as well as local and international organisations, to mitigate, address or intervene—let’s say—in relation to the difficulties you have mentioned?
Jad: You see, we adopt the following motto: ‘Think globally, act locally’. Whilst the Palestinian Authority, the Environmental Quality Authority and the Palestinian government will be negotiating regarding the Green Climate Fund and the Green Climate Mechanism, we, as civil society organisations, have decided to adopt the principle that ‘Small is beautiful’.
Simple, small-scale interventions that people are capable of carrying out to tackle this issue. But in truth, we… well, we aspire to Palestinian sovereignty so that we can, for example, establish water harvesting projects.
We want sovereignty that allows us to control the crossings. We want sovereignty that means we can control transport and create alternative transport systems, and so on.
But, as far as I’m concerned—I mean, at the Institute and our colleagues in, our colleagues in the various agricultural institutions—for example, we have around a thousand ancient wells.
When I say ‘ancient wells’, I’m talking about those dating back to before the Common Era, built by the inhabitants of this land. These wells need to be restored and a system put in place so that they can be utilised by herders and, um, to conserve water.
This is a project we must undertake. We have worked on about a hundred wells in the Kisan area; we have developed them and installed pumps and so on, for the sheep herders.
In my view, the eastern foothills must be a priority for everyone’s work, because if this area becomes desertified, the hot winds coming from the Arabian Peninsula will sweep up into the highlands in the centre of the West Bank, thereby leading to a reduction in rainfall in this region.
The more vegetation there is on the eastern foothills, the more they will act as a buffer against—or help us adapt to—climate change. In many cases, this requires us to manage livestock grazing based on the amount of chlorophyll – the amount of green vegetation present – meaning sustainable grazing, and not to allow overgrazing, which leads to desertification.
Desertification: 85 per cent of agricultural and pastoral areas that were once accessible to Palestinians are now off-limits to them, which has led to desertification in these areas.
Two days ago, Israel issued an order to confiscate 395 dunums in the Tubas area. When we looked at the map of Tubas, the aim was to target all the grazing areas east of Tubas, meaning 72,000 dunums of pastureland will be lost.
Imagine how much this will cost the Palestinian economy.
Meanwhile, the settlers are digging water wells and putting their sheep in these areas to graze on whatever is there, thereby wiping out whatever remains of the pasture vegetation.
This will be yet another blow to Palestinian farmers, particularly sheep farmers. Of course, Israel has targeted all the eastern areas by displacing the Bedouins.
Around 68 Bedouin communities have been evacuated in the area east of Tubas. Unfortunately, only one community remains—Al-Hadidiya—whilst the rest have been evacuated.
For example, one of the measures we are calling for is to encourage urban farming on rooftops, on any balcony, on any plot of land, whether using raised beds, hydroponics or aquaponics.
However, in our latest annual report for 2025, we were able to demonstrate, through these farming methods, that we had sequestered the equivalent of 112 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
This is a small-scale initiative; if replicated by ten organisations, it would be a way to tackle climate change. Rainfall is decreasing by 15 to 20 per cent. So we are simply putting forward our suggestions to the world: create micro-catchments around the trees, particularly olive trees.
Create an area around each tree that can absorb rainwater and expand the micro-catchment to increase the amount of water reaching the roots. Until we are able to provide supplementary irrigation for the olive trees, or use treated wastewater to irrigate them and preserve them, because there is a historical animosity between Israel, the settlers and the olive trees.
In other words, they harbour a grudge against olive trees, whilst there is an almost unearthly love between the Palestinian people and olive trees. We estimate that we can treat 70 million cubic metres of wastewater annually, but this requires institutional arrangements, legal frameworks and specifications to be agreed upon.
The problem is that four or five ministries are unable to agree on setting standards for what to do with this wastewater. This is a responsibility we can resolve quite simply. The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Water Authority, together with local government, can meet and issue a recommendation that our priority over the next five or ten years is to treat and utilise as much wastewater as possible.
It can be used for supplementary irrigation, for growing alfalfa and fodder, or for cultivating azolla, which produces large quantities of fodder beneficial to animals. In pastoral areas, we have provided sheep farmers with biodigesters; we have tested and trialled this approach on several occasions.
A biodigester is essentially a one-metre-by-one-metre tank into which you place all animal and human waste, as well as food scraps; it produces energy – methane gas for cooking – and, ultimately, high-quality fertiliser.
It prevents the release of methane, which is just as dangerous – or even more so – than carbon dioxide in terms of climate change. So we tried it and it’s caught on; we need to scale this up, increase the number of these units.
Unfortunately, here in Palestine, we still don’t recycle more than 2 per cent of the plastic we use. Well, why is that? You go to any grocery shop to buy anything, and they’ll hand it to you in a nylon bag.
So where are you supposed to get rid of that nylon bag? The rubbish tip? Let’s go back to the old days and use cloth or paper bags to ease the pressure on our limited resources.
Cars and transport are currently the biggest source of air pollution in Palestine. So reduce customs duties on electric cars. Set up a rail network, or one within cities.
Why isn’t there a single electric transport system in any Palestinian city to carry people, instead of them having to keep travelling by car, when there aren’t enough of them, the roads aren’t sufficient, and there are constant traffic jams and so on.
These are things we can do on our own without needing any outside help or aid; it just depends on raising awareness and providing education. As for water, I mean, every house used to have a well – a collection well.
Of course, people call the collection well ‘impure’ or something like that. Well, uncle, invest in it, invest in it, fix up the well. Given the current water scarcity in the West Bank, the well has become a vital necessity, not a luxury. Our dependence on Israel means they sell us water; they treat water as a commodity.
They sell it to us, and we’re dying without it. We buy it from them; they extract it from us and sell it back to us at exorbitant prices. In the Bethlehem area, for example, a cup of water currently costs eight shekels.
So why don’t we collect the water that God provides us with? God may send more rain one year than the next, but at the very least we can dig a well with a capacity of one cubic metre. This one cubic metre of water helps ensure that people do not consume more water than necessary.
There are many issues, but if we join forces, we can tackle climate change and await a political breakthrough so that we can have greater control over our resources and how we operate in the future.
Huseyin: Professor Jad, I have a question. You’ve mentioned some solutions. Hmm. What is the role of organisations in finding these solutions? Especially given that they work with international organisations and other stakeholders, and are directly involved with the affected communities.
So, if we’re looking to the future and at solutions – in terms of finding solutions, that is, local solutions, let’s say – whether that involves raising awareness or engaging communities in the projects or work you’re doing on climate issues, could you share any experiences you might have with us?
Jad: Yes, we’ve adopted a concept we call ‘climate resilience’, and a number of countries, donors and UN agencies have embraced this. There are projects currently being implemented, whether with support from the World Food Programme or Save the Children, including a project called— ‘Climate Justice’ between us and you, and between us and the Swedish organisation We Effect.
We’ve also previously worked with GIZ, as well as several international organisations; Oxfam, for instance, has made climate resilience a top priority in its work. I don’t want to bore anyone, so I won’t list them all, but climate resilience has become accepted as a way of life, especially as it focuses on the future rather than treating the issue merely as humanitarian aid.
When 180,000 workers lost their jobs in Israel, they turned to the land, and the area covered by greenhouses increased significantly in the north. People sold their women’s jewellery and went on to build greenhouses; a greenhouse, for example, produces around 30 tonnes of tomatoes per dunam.
This led to a production surplus, but unfortunately we only produce three main crops in these greenhouses: tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. We must now start thinking seriously about diversifying what we grow so that there isn’t—so that there isn’t—a disruption in supply.
Another important thing we must work on is what is known as Sustainable Production and Consumption. Look, you go to a restaurant, they serve you, they lay out all these dishes and so on, but people only eat half of what’s served and the rest gets thrown away.
Well, this is a resource that’s being turned into a rubbish tip. Why? It’s a shame. Look, go to a restaurant in Germany, for example, and order something; ask for extra food, and see what they’ll say to you.
They’ll tell you off because you ordered it but didn’t eat what you’d ordered. So why don’t we—I mean, why don’t we put a system in place for Sustainable Consumption and Production? It’s easy, really easy.
It’s simply a matter of raising awareness. Start with children, young people and schools. Perhaps those in our generation are used to a lifestyle that won’t change now. But young people and women – women are the backbone – so women must play the leading role, because they are the ones most affected by climate change.
I mean, we carried out a study on water supply, and it turned out that in marginalised areas, women spend nearly four hours obtaining the water their households need.
That’s a shame. There are solutions that need to be put on the table to be tested and implemented; in other words, we need to adapt them into Palestinian technology.
Huseyin: I wanted to ask you about the most vulnerable groups; you mentioned women. Within the context of your work on climate change and the climate-related hardships people are facing, in addition to the war, who are the groups most affected – the ones you support and work with?
Jad: Women and young people are the most affected by climate change; they are our target group, and we focus on them to help them adapt to climate change.
Huseyin: I’ll move on to the final question. What message would you like to convey, particularly regarding working towards a better future for Palestine in relation to climate change?
Jad: I would say to our people that climate change is the scourge of our time and it will affect us. According to United Nations estimates, there are currently 400 million climate refugees – people who have been displaced by climate change.
There are coastal cities that will be inundated, and we must take this into account. I know that the situation in Gaza, for example, means that rebuilding the Gaza Strip will be a very costly process, but if we place the issue of climate change at the top of our agenda, the new Gaza must be built as a green, clean Gaza, and we must provide Gaza with opportunities by utilising its renowned coastline and the territorial waters guaranteed to us by international law, and international law, to establish wind power stations.
The coast in Gaza has stronger winds – winds strong enough to power them. I dream of seeing four or five hundred wind turbines in Gaza to supply all of Gaza’s energy needs, whether for water desalination or for other purposes, such as energy substitution and so on.
I hope that even in Gaza, when we begin the reconstruction process, there will be two water sources for every home: one source of 100 per cent fresh, excellent-quality water for drinking and cooking, whilst the other can be used for showering or flushing the toilet, even if it is slightly salty.
But this requires building a new system; we need to be pioneers. Palestine will be the first region to use a dual water system. And I hope that the Palestinian official who will begin the effort to rebuild Gaza will take this situation into account.
Huseyin: Many thanks to Dr Jad. We have come to the end of today’s programme. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Dr Jad Ishaq for this insightful discussion and for sharing with us his expertise and insights on one of the most significant challenges facing Palestine and our region today.
As we have seen during the discussion, climate change is no longer merely an issue for the future; it is a reality that affects people’s lives on a daily basis – impacting food security, drinking water, agriculture, health and development. Dealing with it now requires long-term planning, investment in knowledge, strengthening the role of local institutions, and collaboration with various stakeholders, whether they be the people themselves, humanitarian organisations or government bodies.
I hope this episode has helped to provide a clearer picture of the reality of climate change in the occupied Palestinian territories, and has encouraged reflection on practical solutions that strengthen communities’ capacity to adapt and remain resilient in the face of these environmental and humanitarian challenges.
Thank you for following along and listening. This has been Huseyin Arslan from the Humanitarian Leadership Academy. Goodbye, and may you be well, God willing.
