Tangiers’ Call To Speed Up Transition Towards Green Global Economy – OpEd

Moroccan Press Agency reported that King Mohammed VI and French President Francois Hollande, chaired, on Sunday at the Gueznaya urban commune (Tangiers-Assilah prefecture), the launch ceremony of the “Tangiers’ Call for solidarity-based and strong action in favor of climate”, an initiative mirroring the two countries’ determination to join efforts to help the international community find adequate responses to climate change.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Moroccan and French foreign ministers, Salaheddine Mezouar and Laurent Fabius, read out the joint statement “Tangiers’ Call” in which the two countries urge the international community, the public opinion and the world’s stakeholders to combat climate change in a serious, efficient and equitable way.

The Tangiers’ Call, which follows the Manila Call (the Philippines) and the Fort-de-France Call, rings the alarm bell concerning the urgency to take a solidarity-based and strong action in favor of climate and the need to act quickly, soundly and collectively to fight climate change, accoding to the Arab Maghreb Press, MAP.

Morocco and France, which will assume the presidency of the upcoming COP21 and COP22, call for seizing the occasion of the Paris and Marrakech conferences to speed up the transition towards a green global economy, reconciling legitimate aspirations for development with the pressing need for resources’ sustainability and the reduction of environmental risks.

The Tangiers’ Call recalls that Morocco and France are committed to sparing no effort to work for the adoption, during the Paris conference, of a legally-binding universal, global, sustainable, and balanced agreement, based on the UN framework agreement on climate change and allowing to curb global warming under 2 degree Celsius and achieve a carbon-free economy.

It also underlines that the Marrakech conference will be a crucial phase in this regard, adding that this long-term effort depends on the fact that all countries will declare their national contributions before the Paris conference, in addition to the elaboration of national carbon-free development and adaptation plans on the long term.

Morocco and France call on developed countries to state the financial support which they have already provided and intend to give in the coming years to reach the goal of mobilizing 100 billion dollars yearly starting 2020 from public and private resources in favor of actions to fight climate change in developing countries.

On this occasion, HM the King and president Francois Hollande signed the joint statement “the Tangiers’ Call”.

In an age of dwindling non-renewable resources, the race for what’s left is intensifying and could possibly lead to more wars and devastation. Switching to alternative forms of renewable energy is the way forward and those who get there first will most likely be the leaders of the future.

Apparently, Morocco grasped the message quickly and started thinking seriously over the last decade of developing new energies that could put Morocco as a world leader in clean energies.

In fact Morocco is rather exceptional. It is one of the few countries in the region without oil or gas. This has meant a more enterprising and creative population, but it also saddles the nation with colossal bills for energy. There are now hints that a different future is in the offing.

Morocco has made renewable energy a major part of its economic policy dural This policy is reflected in the ambitious solar energy whose implementation is provided by The Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (Masen) is a leaf and road to the kingdom a global leader in the field in 2020.

This major project is part of Morocco’s energy strategy drawn in accordance with the directives of King Mohammed VI and aims in particular to its establishment, in 2020, with a capacity of 2,000 megawatts (MW) from five sites identified, located respectively in Ouarzazate, Ain Bni Mathar, Foum Al Oued, Boujdour and Sebkhat Tah.

The project will, through the development of the solar potential, reduce energy dependence, the preservation of the environment, the limitation of emissions of greenhouse gazes and the fight against climate change. Ultimately, it will save fuel annually 1 million tons of oil equivalent and avoid the emission of 5.3 million tonnes of CO2. From a cost estimated at 9 billion, the Moroccan solar energy fits well in the context of Morocco’s energy policy whose major axes are strengthening the security of energy supply to through diversification of sources and resources, optimization of energy balance and control of capacity planning and universal access to energy by the availability of modern energy for all segments of the population and to competitive prices. Among these major axes, are also sustainable development through the promotion of renewable energies to strengthening the competitiveness of the productive sectors of the country, the preservation of the environment through the use of clean energy technologies for limiting emissions of gazes greenhouse and the reduction of high pressure on forest cover, and strengthening regional integration, particularly through opening markets Euro-Mediterranean energy.

In order to complete the implementation of the Moroccan Solar Plan, Masen is responsible for the design of integrated solar development projects in areas of the country able to house plants generating electricity from solar energy , projects including a solar power generation plant, as well as achievements and related activities contributing to the development of the settlement area and more generally in the country.

The agency’s objectives is also the development of technical, economic and financial resources for the qualification of sites, design the construction and operation of solar projects, contributing to the research and the mobilization of funds needed to implementation and operation of solar projects, the proposal in the administration of industrial integration methods for each solar project and its implementation. It also works for the construction of infrastructure for connecting the main central to the transmission of electricity, as well as the infrastructure to supply water to the subject matter duties devolved by legislation to any other body of law public or private, to promote the program to national and foreign investors, the contribution to the development of applied research and the promotion of technological innovation in filièrees solar electricity production, and the creation of networks specialized training in solar energy in partnership with engineering schools, universities and vocational training centers.

Thanks to its many strengths and its commitment to move forward in this area, Morocco puts itself as a major player in the global renewable energy required to form the one of the fundamental means for achieving the objectives of sustainable development.

That’s why the General Assembly of the 20th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP20) approved in Lima, Morocco’s bid to host COP 22 in 2016.