Limits to cooperation: why Israel does not want to become a member of the International Energy Agency

This article examines the reasons why the Israeli government chose not to apply for membership in the International Energy Agency (IEA), though it has been eligible to do so since 2010. The many benefits the IEA has to offer Israel in terms of enhancing its energy sector’s security, advancing environmental policies, and further integrating it with international markets and standards indicate that Israel would be wise to join the agency. A number of examples of the problematic process by which energy and environmental policy decisions are made in Israel will be used to illustrate this argument. Despite these benefits, Israel has rejected any notion of membership following a 2010 interdepartmental discussion between several ministries. The arguments raised during these discussions help shed some light on how the ‘security-mindset’ that tends to dominate Israeli policymaking serves as a limit to Israel’s potential progress of both its energy sector and its environmental policies.