The head of the Moroccan government has highlighted the ambitious approach adopted by Morocco to face the challenges of climate change.
Addressing the Summit of Heads of State and Government, held Monday in Madrid in the framework of the COP25, Saad Dine El Otmani pointed out that Morocco continues, under the leadership and personal involvement of King Mohammed VI, the development of its interventions and actions at the national, regional and international levels within the framework of an ambitious approach.
The kingdom has launched several strategies and programs to go beyond the goal of reducing by 42% its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, he said, adding that Morocco also aims to increase the share of renewable energy in the national energy mix to 52% by 2030.
The head of government also expressed the commitment of the Kingdom to work for more involvement of young people and civil society in the fight for the cause of climate through several initiatives.
In his address, El Otmani underlined that Africa, the continent most unfairly exposed to the effects of climate change, needs to be at the center of international efforts and commitments and greater support needs to be granted to African countries.
He recalled in this connection Morocco’s actions for Africa, notably the activation of the Congo Basin Climate Commissions and for the Sahel region, as well as the Triple A (adaptation of the African Agriculture) and Triple S (Sustainability, Stability and Security) initiatives at the 1st Africa Action Summit held on the sidelines of the COP22 in Marrakech.
These initiatives, which represent a multisectoral platform for investment, should be supported by international climate finance mechanisms, he stressed.
“Our collective efforts to establish a pro-active, just and sustainable approach to climate must guide us to raise our ambitions in the fight against climate change…We must act with courage, ambition and determination to build a better future and a dignified life,” El Otmani pointed out.
The majority of participants in the 25th UN Climate Change Conference that opened Monday in Madrid with the participation of 196 countries, have called for the implementation of rapid solutions to relieve the millions of people already impacted by climate change in Africa.
Climate change impacts wildlife, flora and human societies and this is even more pronounced in Africa where these factors, combined with the scarcity of water resources and demographic pressure, provide fertile ground for the reinforcement of migratory flows, conflicts over resources between communities, particularly pastoralists and farmers, and even between nations. Climate change is also aggravating the problem of food security, a situation that is likely to get worse in the coming years if nothing is done at the global level.
The number of people suffering from undernourishment in Africa is estimated to date at 240 million. The rise in temperature between 1.2 and 1.9 degrees Celsius, due to climate deregulation, could blow up the number of undernourished Africans. These would increase by 25% in Central Africa, 50% in East Africa, 85% in Southern Africa and 95% in West Africa.
With no less than 2 billion people by 2050, Africa is more than ever at the center of all the concerns regarding the fight against the impacts of climate change, especially since it represents one of the most vulnerable continents in this regard.
As a result, about 2% of the continent’s GDP is spent on climate change, situation that hampers the African continent’s development.
The UN Climate Change Conference COP 25 is taking place under the Presidency of the Government of Chile and is held with logistical support from the Government of Spain. It runs from Dec.2 to Dec.13.