Morocco steps up climate goals, as coal power stations continue to hamper progress

Morocco on Monday evening stepped up goals to offset its climate pollution, vowing to cut  45.5% of its greenhouse emissions by 2030.

“ Morocco has been enhancing its multi-faceted commitment to tackling climate issues,” said Head of government Aziz Akhannouch at the start of the COP26 climate conference on Monday, where world leaders are gathering to agree on global action to tackle climate change.

The country had previously set a goal of reducing emissions by 42% by 2030 when it had hosted COP22 in 2016.

The announcement presented another effort by the North African country to project itself as a responsible actor in curbing its impact on the climate, spearheaded by action plans and national policies running since 1999, in the wake of surging threats of drought, an increase of average temperatures, heat waves, changing rainfall patterns, extreme rainfalls, floods, and rising sea levels.

By 2019, Morocco has produced 1.6 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions, according to the scientific publication Our World in Data. The country contributes 0.2 percent to global greenhouse emissions, mainly in the burning of fossil fuels for energy production, and industrial production of materials such as cement.

Although clean energy plans for wind and solar are underway in the country, with ambitions to produce over half its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, continued reliance on coal-fired power stations is hampering the country’s energy transition and driving up devastating impacts on health and the economy.

A 2020 report by Greenpeace said air pollution from coal caused the death of around 5,000 people in the county and caused more than a billion euros losses in 2018.

The country ranked 25th most polluting country in the world, with nearly 216,000 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emitted in 2018 from the Mohammedia, Jorf Lasfar, and Safi power stations.