National Committee for Climate Change and Biological Diversity Holds First Meeting

Rabat – The National Committee for Climate Change and Biological Diversity held on Wednesday its first meeting under the chairmanship of the Minister of Energy, Mining and the Environment, Aziz Rabbah.

This meeting, held in a virtual setting, was dedicated to the examination of the committee’s rules of procedure and the discussion of the revised version of the contribution determined at the national level under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), according to a statement from the ministry.

On this occasion, Rabbah welcomed the establishment of this national commission, which will strengthen the national governance framework on climate change and biodiversity.

“It is a commission that is expected to play an important role as a platform for exchange, consultation and monitoring of the implementation of our policy in these areas,” he stressed.

The minister also noted that the establishment of this committee comes at a time when Morocco is undergoing a real dynamic in terms of environment and climate change, as evidenced by the 2021 Climate Change Performance Index, published recently by several independent NGOs and which ranks the Kingdom among the top 10 best-performing countries in the fight against climate change.

“This commission will be periodically solicited on several topics related to climate change and biodiversity,” he said, calling for a work plan for its future action and a strong endorsement of all members of the commission to achieve the objectives assigned to it.

The meeting was attended by members of the committee representing relevant ministerial departments, public institutions, research institutions and civil society.

The National Committee for Climate Change and Biological Diversity, created by decree, is a consultation and coordination body for the implementation of the national policy on the fight against climate change and the preservation of biological diversity.

It comprises two sub-committees, namely the Sub-Committee on Climate Change and the Sub-Committee on Biological Diversity, chaired by the government authority in charge of the environment.