Eastern Mediterranean charcoal industry: air pollution prevention

Charcoal production is still considered a polluting industry with a certain impact on global climate change. This traditional practice along the Eastern Mediterranean Sea shoreline exists since the iron age and was industrialized during the Ottoman Empire period, for fueling the Hijaz train engines. The charcoal production continued long after the Hijaz trainline ceased and gradually increased in magnitude, becoming a major environmental and health issue in the last couple of decades. In parallel to the regulatory actions aimed at stopping air pollution, the development of a new type of ecological charcoal production system involved cooperation between Palestinian charcoal manufacturers and Israeli researchers. This combined effort has led to the termination of air pollution through the implementation of the new system and the transformation of the land previously used for charcoal production into farming.

木炭生产仍被归类为污染型产业，对全球气候变化具有一定负面影响。这种沿东地中海海岸线分布的传统生产工艺可追溯至铁器时代，并于奥斯曼帝国时期实现工业化，用于为汉志铁路机车提供燃料。即便汉志铁路停运后，木炭生产仍持续了很长时间，且规模逐步扩大，在近数十年间演变为突出的环境与健康问题。在出台旨在管控空气污染的监管举措的同时，巴勒斯坦木炭生产商与以色列研究人员合作开发了新型生态木炭生产系统。该协作成果通过新型系统的落地应用，不仅彻底消除了空气污染排放，还将此前用于木炭生产的土地改造为农业用地。