We can work on Research Proposal: How Israel government can increase its national green building practices by drawing lessons from Germany

Problem Statement

            Green building practice refers to the practice of making structures and utilizing a process that does minimal damage to the surrounding ecosystem. In so doing, the contractors ensure that the process they engage in lay more emphasis on conservation of natural resources like water, energy, and land as a means of preserving one’s health and wellbeing (Henderson, 2012). In Germany, serious efforts have been instituted over the past twenty years by the various architectural companies to develop ecological-friendly buildings that help in preserving the culture as well as the ecology of the country. For instance, German architectural firms such as Stuttgart’s Behnisch Architekten, Munich’s Allmann Sattler Wappner, Berlin’s Sauerbruch & Hutton, Hamburg’s Hadi Teherani, and Schneider + Schumacher have developed the eco-friendly building to the admiration of the locals as well as the international community (Porter & Linde, 2014). Furthermore, many artists from Germany have continuously been advocating for the adoption of green buildings in other major cities of the world.

            Green building strategies have however not been prominently utilized among Israel’s notable populations. The most recognizable effort in Israel to adopt and use green buildings was in 2011 when the Israeli administration through the Ministry of Environment Protection and Standard Institute contemplated instituting notable changes in the existing policies to ensure that green building practices got encouraged. The government then tasked the ministry with the creation of accurate standards aimed at adopting green building practices in the country as argued by Shaviv & Pushkar (2014). The new rules got regarded as useful and comprised of principles that could be updated by architectures in their fields of operation to improving the green building practices in the Middle-East state. Though there exist some standards meant to encourage green buildings in Israel, the rate of adoption of these practices has been slow compared to Germany. The 2005 standard (IS-5281) did not achieve much in encouraging the practices as the administration did not put not put much effort towards seeing it succeed (Shaviv & Pushkar, 2014). The lack of support by the Israeli government towards green building practices can be said to have led to a political problem in the efforts aimed at making Israel green. Unlike Israel, German architectures which have a bias towards eco-friendly buildings get support from the government in the form of funds and legislation. According to Shrestha & Technische Universität Berlin (2016), Germany’s federal and local governments provide funds for the construction of environmental-friendly buildings and offer support in terms of personnel to mark the location as well as determine the sustainability of the constructed roads and railways.

            Fuel combustion in Israel accounts for about 76% of greenhouse gas emissions where 56% originate from energy and electricity production while 20% represent vehicle emissions according to Kottmeier (2016). Carbon dioxide is the central source of greenhouse gas accounting for about 87% followed by methane which is emitted during various agricultural and industrial activities in the country. There is, therefore, a strong indication that human activities cause global warming. Political goodwill and support can be utilized in formulating and implementing laws that can encourage the adoption of the green building practices. The Israeli government can thus learn from the actions of the Germany government when it comes to supporting green building practices. A review of past studies on the subject revealed that most of them do not base their research on Germany, which is the green leader in Europe and by extension the world. This is the essence of this research which will seek to find out how the Israeli government can learn from green building strategies encouraged in Germany.

State of Knowledge

            As it stands, not many individuals in Israel have full knowledge on how green building practices can impact their lives. The Israeli government is partly to blame for this inadequacy of expertise among the Israelites. Despite the previous regimes putting in place standards to encourage green buildings, the current system has not done much to ensure the practice continues. One of the ways in which this can be done is through proper enforcement of the existing standards and also sending a section of its people to other countries that have done well in green building (like Germany) to learn from them. The research will thus help in exploring ways in which the Israeli political agencies can enhance the implementation of green practices in the country by drawing lessons from Germany. As a first world country, Germany has put in place various policies and standards that promote green building practices.  The study is essential in linking political influence and the causes of greenhouse gases and how green building can help in solving the problems related to environmental degradation (Tal, 2013). Reports from developed countries show that politics play an essential role in ensuring that laws get enacted. The research will explore how parliament through the request of the Israeli government can pass laws that set standards meant to ensure that green building practices get implemented in the country (Helmut & Lutz, 2008).

Research Question

How are the current ‘Green Building’ policies in Israel, or lack thereof, affecting its national implementation?

Method

            A qualitative research methodology will be used for the research. Questionnaires will be used to collect primary data regarding the role of the Israeli government in enhancing green building practices. Also, the questionnaire will include questions to do with the lessons Israel can learn from Germany concerning green building practices. The naturalistic design will be used in the studying of the global situations on green building practices with specific reference to Germany. The method will be non-controlled and non-manipulative to be open to other factors as recommended by Franklin (2012). Collected data will then be analyzed and interpreted. The findings will be presented in tables, line graphs, pie charts and bar graphs. Conclusions and recommendations will then be drawn from the analyzed, interpreted and presented data. The study will use and apply the tenets of the environmental political theory. According to Brown (2016), the theory makes sentient attempts to consider the environmental concerns and how global actors have managed to address them. The theory argues that most governments have attempted to lay down strategies aimed at eliminating hazards to the environment, but not all have succeeded in doing so. The approach will be applicable in the case of Israeli government trying to adopt green building strategies.

Data Source

            The researcher will make use of both primary and secondary data. Primary data will be conducted using questionnaire filled online by respondents. Secondary sources will include data from the Ministry of Environment of the two countries. Also, the report presented by different organizations on green building practices will be analyzed to assess whether there are additional factors that can be utilized or emulated from Germany to help in increasing green building practices in Israel. Also, the researcher will make use of different political science databases to get information on green building practices.

References

Brown, M.B. (2016). “Three approaches to environmental political theory.” Contemporary Political Theory, 15(3), e21–e28

Franklin, M. (2012). Understanding research: coping with the quantitative-qualitative         divide. London/New York. Routledge.

Henderson, H. (2012). Becoming a green building professional. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.

Helmut, W. & Lutz, M. (2008). “German Climate Change Policy: a success story with some flaws.” The Journal of Environment and Development. 17: 356–378.

Kottmeier, C. et al., (2016). “New perspectives on interdisciplinary earth science at the Dead

Sea: The DESERVE project.” Science of the Total Environment, 544: 1045–1058.             https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.12.003

Porter, M.E., & Lide, V. (2014). “Green and competitive: ending the stalemate.” In Wubben, E. M. The dynamics of the eco-efficient economy: environmental regulation and competitive advantage (4th Ed.). Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Tal, A., Leon-Zchout, S., Greenspan, I., Oshry, L., & Akov, S. (2013). “Israel’s environmental movement: strategic challenges.” Environmental Politics, 22 (5), 779–791.

Shaviv, E. & Pushkar, S. (2014). “Green Building Standards -visualization of the building as layers according to lifetime expectancy.” Energy Procedia, 57, 1696-1705

Shrestha, S., & Technische Universität Berlin. (2016). Comparison of energy efficient and green buildings: Technological and policy aspects with case studies from Europe, the USA, India and Nepal. Berli: Technische Uni Berlin.

 

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