Rabat – Morocco intensifies its fight against climate change, by renewing the country’s commitment to the cause and setting a new national goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Moroccan Ministry of Energy, Mines and Environment announced that the country aims to reduce gas emission to 45.5% by 2030, as opposed to its original goal of 42%.
An 18.3 % reduction is not conditional to international support.
Morocco first spoke of this ambitious goal in its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs), submitted on June 22 to the United Nations, in compliance with the Paris Accords.
The Paris Agreement requests each country to outline and communicate their post-2020 climate actions, known as their NDCs.
The updated Moroccan NDC is built based on a portfolio of 61 mitigation projects, 27 of which are conditional to international support.
These projects cover seven sectors, namely: energy (power generation), industry (including phosphates and cement production as two new sub-sectors), housing and construction, transport, waste, agriculture, land management and forestry.
The total cost of this project portfolio is estimated to be $38.8 billion, of which $21.5 billion is for conditional projects.
Several eminent personalities commended the updated Nationally Determined Contribution, led by Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and Alok Sharma, President of the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26).
Morocco aims to generate 52% of its electricity requirements from renewable energy sources by 2030, and is developing domestic manufacturing by procuring 35% of the second phase of the NOOR concentrated solar plant from local producers.
The country also lifted all subsidies on diesel, gasoline, and heavy fuel oil to encourage efficient use by freeing up resources for investments towards a greener economy.
The plan Maroc Vert aims to protect the environment as well as the livelihoods of Moroccans. Agriculture accounts for only 15% of its Gross Domestic Product, but farming still employs 40% of the Moroccan workforce.
As part of its efforts to manage coastal zones better and develop sustainable aquaculture, Morocco has begun treating its ocean as a natural resource. Fishing makes up 56% of the country’s agricultural exports.
Morocco is also making a significant effort to conserve its underground aquifers, a natural source of freshwater that, if left clean and undisturbed, replenishes itself. It’s a win for the environment and for current and future generations in Morocco.
Moroccan investments and efforts on the climate crisis have been hailed internationally, as the country ranked first in the North African region, and second in Africa, in MIT’s Technology Review Insights Green Future Index.
The country also ranked 4th in terms of climate performance in the “2021 Climate Performance Index Report,”placed behind Sweden, Great Britain, and Denmark.
The non-governmental organizations Germanwatch, the International Climate Action Network and the German New Climate Institute, produced the report.
Despite Morocco’s success as the world’s second climate protector, and the many climate related projects it’s invested in, the country was ranked 3rd in greenhouse gas emissions in North Africa back in 2019.
The North African country emitted close to 66 tons of CO2 (MtCO2) in 2018, double of Tunisia’s emissions (32 tons), yet significantly less than Algeria (156).
Morocco ranked, through the atlas of this study, 51st global emitter, against 34th for Algeria and 74th for Tunisia.
Expansion of renewables is continuing as planned, but the construction of new coal-fired power plants may result in higher emissions. In addition to Morocco’s accelerated industrialization, the limiting of greenhouse gas emissions will prove to be challenging.
However, emissions trends indicate that Morocco is likely to achieve its climate pledge, which The Climate Action Tracker rates as “Paris Agreement Compatible.”
