86% of Moroccan respondents say climate change is already affecting their everyday life; 51% believe that climate change and environmental damage have affected their income or source of livelihood; 78% of Moroccan respondents say that investing in renewable energy should be prioritised.
These are some of the key findings from the first African edition [1] of the European Investment Bank’s (EIB’s) 2022 Climate Survey. The EIB is the lending arm of the European Union and the world’s largest multilateral lender for climate action projects. Since 2018, the EIB has conducted similar large-scale climate surveys across Europe, China and the United States.
Morocco is strongly committed to the fight against global warming, as one of the world’s first countries to submit its first nationally determined contribution.
Adaptation is a top priority, given the country’s high vulnerability to climate change. The cost of implementing adaptation programmes in the most affected sectors is estimated at nearly $40 billion. Those sectors include water, agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, forestry, health and habitat, and the most vulnerable environments and ecosystems are oases, coasts and mountains. As part of the European Green Deal, the European Union has been working with Morocco since 2020 to develop the first green partnership outside the European Union. It aims to strengthen political dialogue and technical cooperation between them in the fight against climate change, the energy transition, environmental protection and promoting the green economy. The country’s decarbonisation and the promotion of a resilient and resource-efficient economy are also priorities for several EU Member States and donors in Morocco.
Leila Benali, Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development:
“The Kingdom of Morocco has been at the forefront of the fight against climate change for more than 30 years. We have put sustainability at the heart of our development model and we have followed an inclusive approach: Having citizens participate is key to the success. People already see the impact of climate change in their daily life since they are dealing with recurring drought, biodiversity loss, coast line impact, etc. Ironically, we also start to see it affecting the financing of the next generation of renewable and green projects.”
Ricardo Mourinho-Félix, vice-president of the EIB, said:
“The EIB has a long-established relationship with Morocco and has provided funding for initiatives to improve Morocco’s resilience to rehabilitate and improve the country’s water supply, as well as initiatives for agricultural ecosystems. The EIB is collaborating closely with Moroccan partners following COP27 to accelerate climate action investment, including large-scale clean energy, sustainable transport and water investment, to support the country’s green transition.”
Climate change and environmental degradation
The survey results confirm that climate change has negatively affected the livelihoods of Moroccan people, with just over half (51%) stating that their income has been affected. These losses are typically due to severe drought, rising sea levels or coastal erosion, or extreme weather events such as floods or hurricanes.
Just under half of Moroccans (49% vs. the African average of 57%) say they or people they know have already taken some form of action to adapt to the impact of climate change. Some of these initiatives include investments in water-saving technologies to reduce the impact of drought and drain clearing in advance of flooding.
Investment in energy sources
When asked about the sources of energy their country should invest in to combat climate change, 78% of Moroccan respondents, close to the African average of 76%, say renewable energy should be prioritised, far ahead of fossil fuels (11%).
The EIB has a long-standing relationship with Morocco, which dates back to 1979, and has provided funding for long-term public and private investments across the country by financing the production of renewable energy and the development of sustainable urban transport.
The EIB has operated in Africa since 1965. Since then, it has invested €59 billion in 52 African countries, supporting infrastructure projects, innovative firms and renewable energy schemes, in the public sector and private companies, from microenterprises to the largest multinationals. Africa needs to increase its spending on combating climate change by several hundred billion euros a year.
