Morocco's Decarbonization Efforts Highlighted in Baku

Morocco’s efforts in decarbonization and climate change mitigation were showcased, on Wednesday in Baku, during a side-event held alongside at the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29).

This meeting, held at the Moroccan Pavilion under the theme “Territorial Carbon Footprint: A Tool for Measuring Emissions at the Local Level”, highlighted the Kingdom’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint, with a particular focus on local authorities, which play a key role in driving an effective energy transition.

Speaking on this occasion, El Hassan Zoubir Idrissi, from the Interior Ministry, emphasized Morocco’s low-carbon strategy for 2050, which aims to implement the Kingdom’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), outlining a comprehensive, multi-stakeholder approach for transforming Morocco’s institutions, economy, and society between 2020 and 2050.

Idrissi also underscored the central role of cities and regions in generating new low-carbon actions that complement Morocco’s NDC. These initiatives include raising awareness, mobilizing local actors, and providing institutional, strategic, and financial support for transition efforts, stressing the importance of developing emission calculations to help regions create targeted decarbonization plans that foster both emission reductions and local economic growth.

He referenced the “Carbon Balance Tool” introduced by the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection (FM6E) in 2013, which integrates nearly 300 emission factors, noting that this year, FM6E partnered with the General Directorate of Local Authorities to adapt the tool for local governments to promote decarbonization.

For his part, Mohamed Sefiani, Mayor of Chefchaouen, highlighted his city’s actions to reduce its carbon footprint, including the installation of LED lighting to ensure “responsible lighting”, explaining that these efforts have resulted in a 44% energy savings in the Old Medina and a 41.21% reduction in consumption across the network between 2019 and 2023, alongside a reduction of 59 tons of CO2 emissions.

Sefiani announced that Chefchaouen would soon become the first African city fully equipped with LED lighting, adding that the city also adopts a sustainable mobility strategy, including pedestrianizing public squares and introducing electric and hybrid vehicles to create a cleaner fleet and reduce CO2 emissions.

Referring to electric mobility, Sefiani announced the purchase of electric and hybrid vehicles to promote the transition to a clean fleet, with a view to making Chefchaouen a model of clean mobility, by gradually integrating electric and hybrid vehicles.

Antoine Faye, an international consultant specializing in climate change economics, stressed the importance of involving all nations, particularly local governments, in climate negotiations to achieve tangible results in mitigating climate change effects, calling for local governments and municipal authorities to establish a carbon budget and implement reliable, precise emission measurement practices to better target emission reductions.

Faye pointed out that measuring emissions at the level of each locality allows for defining the areas where each actor can take action to reduce them, he explained, emphasizing that carbon neutrality depends on collaboration between central and local levels.

Under the Paris Agreement, Morocco updated its NDC in 2021, setting a higher target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45.5% by 2030.