79 MARTINDALE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISE Morocco’s road to clean power William Yaeger Morocco’s plan to decarbonize is centered on a transition to renewable power in which the kingdom has invested heavily over the past decade. Despite notable progress, it will need to substantially scale up its current investments to meet its ambitious climate targets. This article examines Morocco’s recent progress toward clean power and offers an analysis of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead as the country seeks to complete its energy transition. Introduction Since regaining its independence from France in 1956, Morocco has steadily built up both its economy and its international reputation. The resource-rich nation, known during its colonial days as an exporter of raw goods, has forged a strong brand in recent decades as a regional hub for manufacturing, shipping, services, and tourism. Over the past decade, however, Morocco has begun to receive international recognition as a center of excellence in a new area: decarbonization. The nation has set ambitious greening targets and has pledged to reduce its total greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 77% by 2050 (El Hafdaoui et al., 2024). Morocco’s push to transition to a low-carbon economy is commendable and ambitious: according to the World Bank, an estimated $78B in funding is needed to allow the country to completely decarbonize by the early 2050s (World Bank Group, 2022). Such an extensive national decarbonization effort has tremendous potential to stimulate the national economy by creating jobs for a growing workforce currently experiencing an unemployment rate of about 10% (Statista, 2024). Furthermore, the resulting energy infrastructure will serve the kingdom’s aspirations to become a more prominent economic player in Africa and the Mediterranean. Unlocking a prosperous low-carbon future for Morocco starts in the country’s electric power sector. As of 2021, power generation was responsible for approximately 45% of the nation’s energy-related CO2 emissions (International Energy Agency, 2024). Crucially, greening the power sector also paves the way for the eventual decarbonization of other major carbon-intensive economic sectors, such as industry and transportation, through electrification. This article examines Morocco’s progress toward decarbonizing its power sector and offers an analysis of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead as the kingdom seeks to complete its power transition while balancing other social and economic priorities. Mounting pressure to decarbonize Morocco’s rise to prominence as a regional leader in decarbonization is partly rooted in the harsh realities that climate change has imposed on the country in recent years. Morocco faces increasingly severe forest fires, heat waves, and desertification, and the domestic per capita water supply is rapidly approaching the absolute scarcity threshold of 500 cubic meters per person per year (Hill, 2022). To mitigate these risks through climate action, Morocco has become increasingly active in international discussions around climate, hosting the 2001 and 2016 Conference of the Parties (COP) climate summits and adopting its own decarbonization pledges under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Morocco is also experiencing pressures to decarbonize on the economic front. New emissions taxes are being implemented by the EU, one of Morocco’s most important economic partners. The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which takes full effect in 2026, is a carbon tariff implemented to protect EU producers that are subject to strict emissions regulations against foreign competitors that face fewer compliance-related costs. Under the CBAM, goods imported to the EU from trading partners like Morocco are subject to emissions reporting requirements and an emissions-based tax. The CBAM is currently limited to certain carbon-intensive goods (aluminum, cement, electricity, fertilizers, hydrogen, and iron/steel) but is expected to expand to include others in the near future (Berahab, 2023). Other countries, such as the UK, have doi:10.18275/pbe-v042-012
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