中国气候变化信息网 China Climate Change Info-Net

The Israeli cabinet on Sunday approved a national project to reduce green house gas emissions, allocating 2.2 billion shekels (about 598 million U.S. dollars) over the upcoming decade.

The plan includes reducing home electricity consumption, renovation of public and residential buildings for energy- efficiency and information campaigns to increase public awareness, said a statement issued by the prime minister's office.

The plan's implementation carries long-term significance for the state, said the statement.

"The recent dry months, including the driest November in the history of the state, are a warning light to us all that the threat of climate change is no less menacing than the security threats that we face. In a country that suffers from a severe water shortage, this is an existential struggle," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quoted as saying in the statement.

Meteorologists say that rainfall in the area this year is the lowest since 1962, and that temperatures are the warmest they've seen in decades.

The Israeli Water Authority has said, according to local Ynet news site, that this November was the driest in almost half a century.