US Climate Change Special Envoy in Morocco for COP 22 Discussions

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - July 28, 2016) - US Special Envoy for Climate Change Dr. Jonathan Pershing traveled to Rabat, Morocco Wednesday and Thursday to discuss plans for the 22nd Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 22), which will be held in Marrakesh this November. Meetings and roundtable discussions with Moroccan officials and members of the COP 22 commission and steering committee, who are responsible for planning and hosting the event, prioritized the "rapid entry-into-force of the Paris Agreement, implementation of countries' Nationally Determined Contributions, mobilizing private sector finance for low-carbon climate resilient solutions and clean energy, and climate adaptation and resilience," according to a State Department release.

In statements to the press following meetings with Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Salaheddine Mezouar, Moroccan Minister of Agriculture and Marine Fisheries Aziz Akhannouch, and other dignitaries, Mr. Pershing praised the "effective" partnership between the two countries in planning the November conference, and stated, "Morocco is a world leader in clean energy and many countries are looking to be inspired, especially in the implementation of renewable energy projects on a large scale, like the NOOR project."

Noor 1, the first phase of what will become the largest concentrated solar power plant in the world, was inaugurated in Morocco earlier this year, and is just one of many environmental initiatives helping Morocco reach its goal of generating 42% of the country's energy needs from renewable sources by 2020 and 52% by 2030. In 2016, the Climate Change Performance Index ranked Morocco alongside Denmark, Sweden, and Belgium in the top ten most climate-conscious countries and number one in the newly industrialized world based on criteria including CO2 emissions, renewable energy development, efficiency, and climate policy.

King Mohammed VI has been an outspoken advocate for climate change action, noting in a speech at COP 21 in Paris last November, "The climate change predicament is the ultimate injustice suffered by the most vulnerable." "The consequences of climate change are affecting developing nations as much as -- if not more than -- developed countries, especially the least advanced African and Latin American States and small island States."

The Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) is a non-profit organization whose principal mission is to inform opinion makers, government officials, and interested publics in the United States about political and social developments in Morocco and the role being played by the Kingdom of Morocco in broader strategic developments in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East.

This material is distributed by the Moroccan American Center for Policy on behalf of the Government of Morocco. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC.