Los proyectos sostenibles encabezan la principal financiación del BERD en Marruecos
The EBRD - European Bank for Reconstruction and Development - issued a statement in which it said that, for the first time, green finance in Morocco ranks as the main total investment activity in the country. According to the published report, the bank would have issued around 211 million euros in 2021, which have been earmarked to carry out 10 sustainable projects. It should be noted that all these plans are offered to the private sector in the country.
"Through its Green Economy Finance Facility and Green Value Chain Programme, the EBRD provided a total of €88m to partner banks to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and companies invest in climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies," the EBRD said in its statement.
Relations between the Alawi kingdom and the European bank are quite close and they carry out several projects together. Morocco is part of the EBRD and to date, the EBRD has invested more than 3.1 billion euros in the Kingdom through the implementation of 78 projects. The organisation has allocated several financial packages that have enabled Morocco to implement a "greener" transition.
Most recently, it provided a fund of 25 million euros, 23.75 million euros of which came from the EBRD and 1.25 million euros from the GCF (Green Climate Fund), backed by support from the European Union. The loan is part of a programme to provide subloans to local citizens, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and companies investing in new technologies to try to mitigate the effects of climate change.
The European organisation praised Morocco's mission to create a cleaner and greener future. According to the bank, the Alawi country has carried out several reforms in 2021 that have been a turning point for environmentalism. It also points to the support of the Moroccan National Authority for Energy Regulation, which, thanks to this department, approved the nation's first electricity grid code, marking a new step towards liberating the electricity sector and adopting new measures and developing the use of new, safer renewable energies.
Morocco's National Press Agency, MAP News, notes that this good news follows the Bank's commitment to align all investments in the Kingdom according to the objectives imposed by the Paris Agreement, of which Morocco is one of the signatories. This 2016 treaty aims to encourage countries to change and establish urgent measures to reduce carbon emissions and improve the situation of the planet's climate.
The EBRD, since its installation in the Kingdom in 2012, has had the main mission of helping small and medium-sized enterprises to grow and succeed in a cleaner way. The organisation supports different companies and industries, such as food and drink, product distribution or even construction and engineering, for example, which work all over the country, with 55% of their projects far from large cities. To date, more than 500 companies have been helped. According to its own website, the EBRD claims that 77% of clients in Morocco increase their turnover by 30% and 62% of them are able to improve their productivity while expanding their business.
The relationship between the EBRD and Morocco continues to grow and major works are planned for 2022. This year, the Kingdom will host for the first time the EBRD's Annual Assembly, to be held in the city of Marrakech from 10-12 May, which will discuss the current economic situation and the aspiration for greener energy use. At the latter, Morocco's work in the fight against the pandemic and the rapid recovery of the nation's economy were highlighted.