Choosing Morocco to Host COP22 Not Fortuitous (Polish Think-Tank)

Warsaw, 09/12/2016 (MAP) – The choice of Marrakesh to host the COP22 was not made by chance because Morocco has positioned itself in recent years as leader and initiator in the field of renewable energies on the African continent, and also as a crossroads of meetings between countries of the North and South, said a document published by the Polish Center for International Relations, a think-tank based in Warsaw.

In an analysis on the COP22, the center noted that many initiatives have allowed Morocco to draw the attention of the whole world on the environmental challenges in Africa, hailing the speech delivered by HM King Mohammed VI before the Africa Action Summit, organized at the initiative of the Kingdom on the sidelines of the COP 22, in the presence of 50 delegations representing the African countries.

The center said that this meeting allowed the leaders at the Summit to work on a common African position to enable the continent to have more visibility and speak with one voice on the international scene.

The center also highlighted a second Moroccan proposal introduced in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) during this global event, namely the Blue Belt initiative, whose main goal is to promote sustainable fishing and preserve coastal communities.

The initiative is of paramount importance as the oceans are increasingly threatened by acidification of water caused by greenhouse gas emissions, the analysis noted.

It added that Morocco was also behind the initiative for the Adaptation of African Agriculture (Triple A), which brings together a total of 27 countries, stressing its utmost importance for Africa because 60% of the continent’s inhabitants live in rural areas and their survival is intrinsically linked to agriculture.