Morocco’s Ambitious Plan for Sustainable Future Embraces Green Mobility

Rabat – The Moroccan Ministry of Transport and Logistics joined forces with H2O HUB, an international innovation accelerator for the development of innovative projects, to organize today in Rabat the first Sustainable Mobility Forum in Morocco.

In line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the event is dedicated to innovation and sustainable transition. It also aligns with King Mohammed VI’s instructions to the Moroccan government, with the monarch having repeatedly called for putting sustainable development and the protection of the environment among Morocco’s priorities.

The aim of today’s forum was to raise awareness of current and future challenges by adopting the most appropriate approaches to governance, science, technology, and skills development.

Sustainable Mobility Forum

In addition, the event provided a platform for reflection and dialogue around the central challenge of expediting Morocco’s shift to more environmentally friendly and inclusive transportation.

Transport and Logistics Minister Mohammed Abdejalil spoke of the significance of the forum, noting the need for prioritizing sustainable development in Morocco’s vision for the future. “Today, this event is putting together public and private actors to think about the future of sustainable mobility in our country for the coming decades,” he said.

According to the forum’s organizer’s, the business-oriented event especially aimed to serve as a venue for dialogue, sharing of ideas, and the pursuit of creative answers to problems related to inclusive and sustainable transportation.

These challenges include urban sprawl, road congestion, increasing travel times and greenhouse gas emissions, the organizers added in a press release, detailing that the transportation industry is responsible for 28% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while the energy sector accounts for 40% of said emissions.

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Attending the forum, Idriss Ilali, an industrial technology development expert and a member of Morocco’s Economic and Environmental Council (CESE), mentioned the growing environmental challenges posed Morocco’s transportation sector is facing as a result of greenhouse gas emissions. Morocco’s transportation industry has released almost 35 million tons of CO2.

“Transportation systems are among the major contributors to CO2 emission” stated, detailing that Morocco’s transportation industry has released almost 35 million tons of CO2.

Also attending the forum was Mohamed Ali Habouha, Governor of the Berkane province in northeastern Morocco. Governor Habouha notably commented on Morocco’s sustainable and inclusive mobility vision, stressing: “We are in a transitional phase when it comes to transport, which poses several financial challenges.”

The governor’s concerns about the financial implications of the challenges facing Morocco in the transportation sector are especially pertinent in light of upcoming major events, such as the 2030 World Cup which Morocco is set to co-host with Spain and Portugal.

To address this issue, Ilali mentioned several propositions to help save the environment such as the production of electric vehicles in large Moroccan cities, more particularly Marrakech.

For her part, Asmaa Chakir Alaoui, co-founder and CEO of VelyVelo, spoke about her innovative project, which offers long-term rental of electric bicycles. “We saw that this country is looking for this new mobility, exploring all the innovation to rethink the smart city for our new generations,” she said.

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As people grow increasingly concerned about climate change, sustainability is becoming the cornerstone of any company’s quest for a fully environmentally responsible future.

As such, more companies around the world are recognizing the importance of integrating environmental issues into their core business objectives.

This underscores the urgent need for companies to actively drive change and take the lead in the transition to sustainability.

Today’s forum brought together institutions, decision-makers, experts, professionals and innovators who share a similar vision of sustainable mobility at the intersection of environmental issues and mobility challenges.

Bringing together notable entities such as the Ministry of Transport and Logistics, the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, and the General Confederation of Enterprises in Morocco (CGEM), the forum concluded by emphasizing the need to embrace sustainable development.

Meanwhile, the organizers of the event concluded in their press release that the transition to more environmentally friendly modes of transport requires a coordinated effort that includes technological advances, public education, a robust legal framework, and close coordination between the relevant ministries.