Climatic Change (2010) 101:555–563 DOI 10.1007/s10584-009-9706-z Trends in CO 2 emissions in Israel—an international perspective Moshe Yanai · Jean Koch · Uri Dayan Received: 16 June 2008 / Accepted: 26 August 2009 / Published online: 10 October 2009 © Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2009 Abstract As a Party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Israel conducts a periodical inventory of greenhouse gases emissions. These data allowed the generation of time series of CO 2 emissions per capita and per GDP for the period 1990–2004. It was found that CO 2 emissions per capita increased dramatically from 1990 to 2000, reflecting the rapid economic growth that was initiated by the massive immigration wave at the beginning of the nineties. These emissions remained stable between 2000 and 2004, reflecting the economic stagnation caused by the uprising in the Palestinian Territories, as well as stagnation in the global economy. CO 2 emissions per GDP (CO 2 intensity) remained stable along the whole reviewed period. This stability can be explained by a shift in electricity consumption from the industrial sector towards the commercial and the residential sectors, corresponding to an increase in the standard of living in the same period. A comparison was held with countries considered as developed for many years repre- sented by the five largest economies (G-5) and recently developed countries (RDCs). Although Israel exhibits emission levels within the range of the G-5 countries, it does not fit the patterns demonstrated by these countries. Trends observed in Israel resemble these observed in other RDCs, such as Spain or Greece, confirming the classification of Israel in this category. M. Yanai Central Bureau of Statistics, 95464 Jerusalem, Israel J. Koch Soreq Nuclear Research Center, 81800 Yavne, Israel U. Dayan Department of Geography, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91905 Jerusalem, Israel M. Yanai (B ) 14 Daniel St., 65604, Tel Aviv, Israel e-mail: yanaim@cbs.gov.il