11 CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY IN THE ARAB REGION
315
Article 4.19) by 2020 and strive towards 100% renewable energy production between 2030 and 2050. 45 The CVF countries have also launched,
in 2015, the Vulnerable Twenty (V20) Group of Finance Ministers, which
describes itself as ‘a dedicated cooperation initiative of economies systemically vulnerable to climate change’. The V20 has been active in engaging
multilateral development banks in discussions on climate risk insurance
and finance. 46
Domestic Policy Evolution and Main Elements
Morocco has been a regional frontrunner in renewables (alongside
Egypt). In 2009, Morocco launched a National Energy Strategy for 2020
and, a year later, established the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (later
renamed as Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy, MASEN). At the
core of the strategy were renewable energy capacity targets for solar, wind
and hydropower of 2 GW each by 2020—amounting to a 42% share of
the power generation capacity. In 2015, this target was raised to 52% by
2030. 47 With a total installed renewable electricity capacity of 3.3 GW in
2018 (an increase of 1.7 GW since 2009) and projects in the pipeline, the
country was well on track to achieving its 2020 targets. 48
Morocco has also passed several important pieces of legislation to
support upscaling of renewables, including a law from 2009 obliging the
national utility to purchase electricity produced by the private sector and
a law from 2015 introducing net-metering for intermittent renewables. 49
According to the International Energy Agency, energy efficiency, despite
being a policy priority, has suffered the ‘most significant implementation
challenges’ owing to a weak mandate and insufficient funding allocated to
the Moroccan Agency for Energy Efficiency, in charge of implementing
related programmes. 50
The country’s first National Plan Against Global Warming, dating back
to 2009, contained a ‘portfolio of actions [and] programmes for mitigation and adaptation’. 51 A Climate Change Policy was launched in 2013
outlining strategic priorities and setting several goals with a 2030 timeframe. In 2009, Morocco was also among the few Arab countries that
submitted a ‘nationally appropriate mitigation action’ (NAMA) in support
of the Copenhagen Accord. NAMAs have been a vehicle for developing
countries to submit their mitigation plans to the UNFCCC and seek
implementation support pre-2020. 52
315
Article 4.19) by 2020 and strive towards 100% renewable energy production between 2030 and 2050. 45 The CVF countries have also launched,
in 2015, the Vulnerable Twenty (V20) Group of Finance Ministers, which
describes itself as ‘a dedicated cooperation initiative of economies systemically vulnerable to climate change’. The V20 has been active in engaging
multilateral development banks in discussions on climate risk insurance
and finance. 46
Domestic Policy Evolution and Main Elements
Morocco has been a regional frontrunner in renewables (alongside
Egypt). In 2009, Morocco launched a National Energy Strategy for 2020
and, a year later, established the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (later
renamed as Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy, MASEN). At the
core of the strategy were renewable energy capacity targets for solar, wind
and hydropower of 2 GW each by 2020—amounting to a 42% share of
the power generation capacity. In 2015, this target was raised to 52% by
2030. 47 With a total installed renewable electricity capacity of 3.3 GW in
2018 (an increase of 1.7 GW since 2009) and projects in the pipeline, the
country was well on track to achieving its 2020 targets. 48
Morocco has also passed several important pieces of legislation to
support upscaling of renewables, including a law from 2009 obliging the
national utility to purchase electricity produced by the private sector and
a law from 2015 introducing net-metering for intermittent renewables. 49
According to the International Energy Agency, energy efficiency, despite
being a policy priority, has suffered the ‘most significant implementation
challenges’ owing to a weak mandate and insufficient funding allocated to
the Moroccan Agency for Energy Efficiency, in charge of implementing
related programmes. 50
The country’s first National Plan Against Global Warming, dating back
to 2009, contained a ‘portfolio of actions [and] programmes for mitigation and adaptation’. 51 A Climate Change Policy was launched in 2013
outlining strategic priorities and setting several goals with a 2030 timeframe. In 2009, Morocco was also among the few Arab countries that
submitted a ‘nationally appropriate mitigation action’ (NAMA) in support
of the Copenhagen Accord. NAMAs have been a vehicle for developing
countries to submit their mitigation plans to the UNFCCC and seek
implementation support pre-2020. 52