The Center for Environmental and Climate Law at Bar-Ilan University is a hub for research, policy, and innovation dedicated to developing the knowledge, capabilities, and solutions needed to address Israel's environmental and climate challenges. The Center combines advanced scientific research, applied work, and the advancement of well-informed, science-based public policy.

Israel faces serious environmental challenges: waste management, air and water pollution, the loss of open spaces, and the climate crisis. According to a 2023 OECD report, the country fell short on nearly every environmental target it set for itself over the past decade. One of the key reasons for this shortfall is the absence of an academic body producing research-based policy recommendations in environmental law and regulation. The Center was established to fill this gap.

The Center is built on the most comprehensive environmental infrastructure in Israel - the Faculty of Law at Bar-Ilan University, and brings together 23 researchers from the fields of law, economics, environmental science, psychology, and public policy. It is headed by Prof. Oren Perez, one of Israel's leading environmental law scholars, and Dr. Uri Sharon, an expert in climate law and environmental regulation.

The Center's activity spans five main areas: pioneering academic research; the development of policy papers and expert committee reports; the Environmental Regulation Clinic, which has operated since 2003 and combines litigation, advising government bodies, and representation in legislative proceedings; the Data-Driven Environmental Policy Lab; and a GIS-based regulatory knowledge base - an open data infrastructure that is unique in Israel.

The Center collaborates with government bodies, civil society organizations, local authorities, and leading international research institutions, including the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School, the Grantham Institute at LSE, and the ClimLaw Center at the University of Graz. Alongside its research and policy work, the Center runs the only program of its kind in Israel - the MA program in Environmental Regulation and Policy, training the next generation of environmental leaders in Israel.