Carbon neutrality: Morocco prepares a major announcement at COP28
The 28th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), to be held in Dubai from November 30 to December 12, promises to be a remarkable event for Morocco. Indeed, the Kingdom has decided to unveil its new Low Carbon Strategy 2050, a Long-Term low greenhouse gas Emissions Development Strategy (LT-LEDS) recommended by the Special Commission on the Development Model and drawn up under Article 4.19 of the Paris Agreement.
The announcement was made by Leïla Benali, Minister for Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, at a conference organized last week in Casablanca by the Swiss Chamber of Commerce around the theme of “Industrial decarbonization: what impact on business competitiveness”.
On this occasion, the Minister emphasized that through this longterm lowcarbon roadmap, Morocco’s ambition is to develop new green value chains, improve the competitiveness of its economy, while ensuring its decarbonization and proactive export positioning. All of this will be done, of course, taking into account developments in this direction by its trading partners, and in particular the European Union’s “Green Deal” and the African Union’s new Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
To successfully implement the LT-LEDS, seven lines of business will be put to work. These include renewable energies, energy efficiency, industry, transport, agriculture and forest ecosystems, the circular economy and waste, as well as promoting a new generation of low-energy and “smart” cities.
To begin with, Leïla Benali is announcing a surge in investment in renewable energy production, starting this year. “We’ll be going from 4 billion dirhams (US 400 million)/year between 2009 and 2022 to 14 billion Dirhams (US 1,4 billion / year between 2023 and 2027, i.e. a 3.5-fold increase between these two periods”, revealed the Minister. In terms of volume, the Equipment Plan of the National Drinking Water and Electricity Board (ONEE) will increase the production of electricity from renewable sources to 1.3 Gigawatts per year between 2023 and 2027, compared with 0.16 Gigawatts per year between 2009 and 2022. This means a fourfold increase between the two periods.
In addition to major solar power plant projects, such as Noor Ouarzazate, there will be selfgeneration initiatives alongside the rollout of ONEE’s Equipment Plan projects. “This requires two things. We need to strengthen the grid and improve battery storage to minimize the cost of energy”, said the Minister, who points out that “investments in the grid have been multiplied by three”.
Aziz Diouf
