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TunisiaMorocco: EIB climate action conference stresses need for concrete projects in the Mediterranean
September 12, 2016
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The EIB has organised an international conference in Rabat, Morocco, entirely devoted to climate action in the region, in partnership with the Moroccan government and the Union for the Mediterranean. All the participants agreed on the increasing and necessary role that the private sector has to play in climate action.
”This was an important and highly symbolic conference ahead of COP 22”, underlined EIB Vice President Roman Escolano. “Climate action is a source of growth, economic development and employment. That’s why, as the primary international sponsor of climate action, the EIB is mobilising the means, skills and expertise to finance concrete projects in Morocco and in different countries, such as for example the showcase Ouarzazate project, for which the EIB is the leading European sponsor.”
Discussions between the numerous participants touched on:
- the serious repercussions of climate change in the Mediterranean, a region that is particularly affected by erosion, desertification and water shortages. These problems are having a real impact on agricultural production and food safety in a situation where the population is concentrated in coastal urban zones;
- issues concerning the adaptation and reduction of climate change, notably in terms of funding needs;
- ways to better know the tools that are specifically devoted to climate project funding in the Mediterranean.
In line with its strategy in favour of climate action adopted in late 2015, the EIB has a range of financial and technical tools that allow for the creation of economically and financially viable projects. The participants also highlighted the need to finance concrete and diversified projects not only in the renewable energy sector, but also energy efficiency in buildings, water, solid and liquid waste, transport and agriculture. These projects should include small and large industrial units, such as research and development initiatives. In this framework, technical support facilities devoted to climate in the Mediterranean, such as the EIB’s CAMENA, play an essential role.
The EIB has already devoted EUR 630 million to climate action in Morocco since 2011, which represents 33% of the bank’s activity in this country. 2015 has been a record year for the EIB in terms of climate action with global investment of EUR 20.6 billion.
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Press release (FR)
EIB – website
Countries covered:
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Morocco
