Rabat – Morocco ranked the third-best Arab nation as part of the World Economic Forum’s Fostering Effective Energy Transmission 2021 Report, published on April 20.
The report assigns each country a ranking based on the Energy Transition Index (ETI) with several criteria attributed to the ranking.
Qatar’s ETI score ranked first (60) in the MENA region followed by the UAE in second (57.5) and Morocco in third (56.8).
Morocco ranked 66th in the overall global ranking, exceeding international standards in fields such as economic growth and development, energy access and security, and regulation and political commitment.
Fields in which Morocco fell below the international standards include transition readiness, capital investment, and human capital and consumer participation.
In 2020, Morocco ranked 51st globally, however, the COVID-19 pandemic reduced its ETI score from 58 to 56.8.
Morocco invested nearly $5.8 billion (MAD 51.6 billion) in renewable energy programs and announced 100 sustainable energy projects in 2021, such as the Fask Dam Project.
Read also: Morocco Invests Nearly $5.8 Billion in Renewable Energy Projects
Although Morocco continues to invest in a variety of programs to develop effective energy transmission, the capital investment score plummeted in 2021 from 59.18 to 43.86, which is a likely factor for the loss of 14 positions in the overall global ranking between 2020-21.
In addition to the overall global rankings, Morocco surpasses the MENA standards for overall ETI and system performance. However, the kingdom is behind in transition readiness at 48.7 as the global standard is 54.77.
Factors that affect the transition readiness ranking are pollution, affordability, supply chains, system inertia, political institutions, financial systems, and human capital.
Morocco excelled in the WEF’s regulation and political commitment criterion as it has remained an active member of the Paris Climate Agreement and is considered “politically stable” by the WEF global competitiveness index.
Morocco is expected to maintain its leading position in the MENA region for the 2022 Fostering Effective Energy Transmission report and will likely improve its global ETI score as the country enters post-pandemic recovery.
