Morocco has signed a framework agreement with South Korea to cooperate on climate change efforts, Map reports. The agreement will see them cooperate to reduce emissions, tackle the impacts of climate change, and transition to a low-carbon economy. They also signed an agreement for loans from the Korean Economic Development Cooperation Fund to finance mutually agreed upon future projects.

Morocco’s current target is set to unconditionally slash emissions by 18.3% by 2030 compared to business as usual, and the country has a conditional target to reduce emissions by 45.5% reduction by 2030 compared to business as usual.

The scorecard: Morocco has some work to do in reducing energy use and improving climate policy, according to a recent Climate Change Performance Index. The kingdom — considered a high performing country — scored well on the first two categories — greenhouse gas emissions and renewables — but only average on the latter two — energy use and climate policy. The country still consumes and imports a lot of fossil fuels but is growing their renewable energy shares at the same time. However, energy prices are high and users of solar energy are excluded from the power grid.

REMEMBER- Morocco’s Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development is developing a MAD 19 bn (c. USD 1.91 bn) draft program for the prevention and control of industrial pollution, Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development Laila Benali said last week, and the kingdom has plans to add 6.5 GW of renewable energy to the country’s 11 GW total installed energy capacity by 2027.

There’s other green cooperation efforts in play: Morocco’s Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment signed a letter of intent in April to establish an international lab focused on the valorization of biomass, organic waste, and microalgae for the production of energy, animal feed, and fertilizers. The North African country and Sierra Leone also agreed to a new cooperation roadmap for 2024-2026, focusing on areas including trade, agriculture, and renewable energy.

IN OTHER MOROCCO NEWS-

Tarik Moufaddal (LinkedIn) has been tapped as the new President and CEO of the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (Masen), according to Morocco World News. He holds a Masters degree in Science from the Ecole des Mines in Paris and an engineering diploma from the Ecole Mohammadia d'Ingenieurs. Moufaddal previously held roles at TotalEnergies, including Director of Mobility Solutions for France and General Manager of TotalEnergies Tanzania.

Masen’s recent activities: Masen completed renovations in March on the 100 MW Nassim Koudia wind plant and finished construction on the 270 MW Jbel Lahdid farm, which together are set to contribute to the country’s goal of 52% renewable energy by 2050.

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