In recent years, the climate crisis has received worldwide attention, and Israel is no exception.  Yet, it is unclear whether local authorities in Israel, and in the Arab population in particular are adequately preparing for the extreme climatic events that will become more frequent as the climate crisis unfolds.  Local governments have an important role in climate preparedness as the executive arm and major service providers to the population. Among other threats, municipalities are required to prepare for extreme heat waves that increase the risk of vulnerable populations, forest fires near residential neighborhoods and flooding as a result of heavy rain events, that may cause both loss of life, and damages to infrastructures and property.

The study seeks to examine the capacity of Arab local authorities for risk management, in general and the risks associated with the climate crisis in particular. The study will propose a model for evaluating the degree of preparedness of the local authorities for extreme events, crises, risks in general and climatic extreme events in particular. Part of the research will aim to understand the ways in which the political and professional leadership of the local authorities' perceive climate risks, their degree of urgency and relevance to the managerial stategy. We will point out gaps and barriers in the development and implementation of climate emergency plans in these authorities and offer an administrative tool to promote the implementation of climate assessment plans adapted to Arab municipalities in Israel.

In the study, we will examine the preparedness of three large Israeli Arab local authorities Arab, in a various geographic locations, climatic conditions and ethnicities (the Bedouin city of Rahat in the Negev, the predominantly Muslim city of Umm al-Fahm in the center of the country, and the northern city of Shafaram where both Muslims, Christians and Druze reside). This, geographically and ethically diverse case selection will allow a representative sampling of Arab municipalities.