The European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco announced, on Monday, their objective to establish a Green Partnership with the goal of strengthening their cooperation in the fight against climate change, and working together on advancing their energy transition, protecting the environment and boosting the green economy. The first results of this work are to be presented at COP 26 in November 2021.

Morocco also presented the substantial and ambitious revision of its NDC to reach a 45.5% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Once finalised, this partnership will contribute to Morocco achieving its objectives, both in decarbonising the economy and in strengthening the resilience of sectors most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

The Green Partnership with Morocco will be one of the EU’s first initiatives with a partner country that will aim to advance the external dimension of the European Green Deal through action on the ground.

In the context of reinforced cooperation, the EU and Morocco have also announced the payment of €12 million in the framework of the Competitiveness and Green Growth Programme, which supports green transition reforms for industries and regulatory convergence. They have also announced that EU services have recently signed a financing agreement of a €20 million programme, co-financed by the French Development Agency (AFD), in support of rural development. For the programming cycle of 2021-2027, around 30% of the EU budget for external cooperation (NDCI) will be devoted to the fight against climate change, mitigation, and adaptation.

Once established, this Green Partnership should allow the EU and Morocco to:

• progress towards their common goals of becoming low-carbon, climate-resilient economies and transition to a green economy;
• strengthen early policy dialogue and coordination on energy, climate change, environmental protection and the green economy at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels;
• foster innovative, sustainable, job-creating and environmentally friendly projects;
• develop triangular cooperation with other international actors to encourage a stronger commitment to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and collectively advance the global climate agenda.

The European Commission and Morocco are already collaborating in the framework of the Energy Transition Council under the COP26 Presidency. Both sides will present a progress report on the work done in the context of the Partnership in November 2021 at COP26.

Image © European Commission, 2021