2024-07-15 05:34:57
Morocco has made considerable and inspiring progress for the continent in the field of adaptation and mitigation, said the minister, who was speaking at a side-event held Tuesday evening by the 4C-Maroc Center at the Congo Basin Climate Commission Pavilion in Dubai, under the theme “Good African decarbonization practices: for a continent resilient to non-tariff carbon barriers”, as part of the COP28 activities.
The Congolese minister welcomed, in this sense, the very close partnership with Morocco and the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, chaired by HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa, also Goodwill Ambassador of the Congo Basin Climate Commission and the Blue Fund for the Congo Basin.
She also stressed that HM King Mohammed VI is at the very centre of the three Climate Commissions resulting from the Summit organised on the sidelines of COP22 at the initiative of the Sovereign, in 2016 in Marrakech, which Commissions “are today addressing the issues of climate change in the continent in a fairly concerted manner”.
Focusing her intervention on decarbonization, Ms. Soudan-Nonault emphasized corporate social responsibility and the importance of taking into account the notion of sustainability to build resilient cities, noting that this is a “financial niche that should not be overlooked.”
“To support the resilience of cities, we have the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) of States, which takes into account this entire process leading to decarbonization”, noting that Africa, even if it only contributes globally to less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, remains a responsible continent, with ecological awareness towards the planet”.
The Congolese official stressed the need for technology transfer, knowledge and skills, and above all resources for real sustainability in the industry, stressing the importance for African countries to equip themselves with Strategic Adaptation Plans.
In this regard, she announced that the Green Climate Fund is offering a grant of 3 million dollars to promote industrial decarbonization and the sustainability and resilience of cities.
She also called on industrialists and financial contributors to support this process within the framework of their CSR charter, noting the imperative of combining mitigation and adaptation, which are intrinsically linked, to succeed in the major project of sustainability and decarbonization of African industries.
For her part, the Director General of the 4C-Maroc Center, Rajae Chafil, recalled that in 2021, Morocco, like other African countries, revised its NDC upwards, increasing its carbon emissions reduction target from 42% to 45.5% by 2030.
The ambition carried by the African continent demonstrates its desire to honour its international commitments, but also to ensure sustainable growth, resilient to the growing risks induced by climate change, she said.
“In a context of climate emergency and the implementation of carbon taxes at the borders of importing countries, the African continent would potentially be led to engage in a decarbonization strategy to achieve its mitigation ambitions as set by the NDCs, but also to adapt to commercial, economic and regulatory developments at national and international levels,” noted Ms. Chafil.
Faced with the challenge of decarbonization, she continued, African export sectors, true drivers of economic growth and human development, have an obligation to decarbonize their production processes in an effective and efficient manner.
In the same vein, Ms. Amal Nadim, from UNDP-Morocco, reviewed the flagship project “Marrakech sustainable city”, noting that this innovative and inspiring project for all of Africa, is a real example of sustainable cities.
This multi-sectoral and multi-dimensional project, she said, is one of nine projects selected by the Global Environment Facility, among hundreds of international applications, to benefit from funding of 10 million dollars, spread over five years and carried out in collaboration with local stakeholders.
The objective of this Side-event was to explore how decarbonization strategies and practices can produce significant “co-benefits” to support a fair, rapid and sustainable energy transition on the African continent, to optimize the sharing of good practices, to create real continental momentum on the subject of sustainability and climate resilience and to initiate partnership prospects within the framework of South-South cooperation.
On this occasion, other speakers made presentations on “The panorama of decarbonization practices of economic sectors in Africa”, “The challenges and opportunities of decarbonization in Africa”, “How to support the African private sector in its decarbonization efforts?”.
2024-07-15 05:34:57