The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Kingdom of Morocco’s Ministry of Energy, Mines, and the Environment (MEME) have agreed to expand their collaborative efforts to enhance renewable energy knowledge and speed the energy transition.
Specifically, IRENA and Morocco will collaborate to improve the country’s green hydrogen economy, as the country aspires to become a significant producer and exporter of green hydrogen.
Under the terms of the strategic agreement signed by IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera and Morocco’s Minister of Energy, Mines, and the Environment, Mr. Aziz Rabbah, the two parties will actively pursue green hydrogen studies and jointly explore policy instruments to engage the private sector in the green hydrogen economy at the national level.
Morocco is often regarded as a regional pioneer in the energy transition. The country has increased its renewable energy ambitions, announcing plans to boost the share of total installed capacity to more than 52% by 2030 – exceeding the country’s goal declared at COP21 in Paris.
“The Kingdom of Morocco has shown great leadership in advancing the deployment of renewable energy to meet growing energy demand while creating new industrial opportunities across the country,” said IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera. “It is only natural that this leadership be extended to the pursuit of green hydrogen, which may play a critical role in global decarbonisation ambitions. Under this agreement, IRENA will work closely with Morocco to advance domestic ambition and create opportunities to share knowledge globally.
Morocco’s Minister of Energy, Mr. Aziz Rabbah said: “Morocco has played an important role in global renewable energy cooperation through IRENA since the Agency’s formation, and we will continue to promote and encourage the uptake of renewables in the context of climate change and sustainable development at a regional and an international level.”
Minister. Rabbah continued: “The signing of this agreement is an illustration of the excellent cooperation between Morocco and IRENA and we will continue to strengthen our joint-efforts aimed at accelerating the transition.”
Under the terms of the agreement, IRENA and MEME Morocco will collaborate to develop technology and market outlook studies, develop public-private partnership models in the hydrogen space, investigate the development of new hydrogen value chains, and lay the groundwork for the national and regional trading of green hydrogen.
Additionally, the two parties will perform joint evaluations on the socioeconomic benefits of renewable energy, with an emphasis on the establishment of new value chains, job creation at the national level, and transfer of lessons gained to the larger area. Morocco seeks to strengthen South-South Cooperation by using IRENA’s worldwide mandate through peer-to-peer and expert exchange, knowledge sharing, and the strengthening of regional initiatives.
