Latest news with #MinistryofEnergyTransitionandSustainableDevelopment
Ya Biladi
21-05-2025
- Business
- Ya Biladi
Morocco issues first ESCO authorization, boosting energy efficiency and job creation
The Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development (MTEDD) has announced the issuance of Morocco's first Energy Services Company (ESCO) authorization. This milestone is part of the implementation of Decree No. 2-24-153, enacted under Law No. 47-09 on energy efficiency and published in the Official Bulletin last November. This initial authorization represents a key step in operationalizing the regulatory framework for energy efficiency. It builds on the momentum generated by the ministry, notably through the decree regulating the accreditation of entities responsible for mandatory energy audits, under which 25 companies have already been approved. ESCOs are a new generation of energy actors expected to play a pivotal role in Morocco's energy transition. Through energy performance contracts, binding them to clients with clear, measurable targets, these companies aim to reduce energy consumption and optimize usage across various sectors. Energy efficiency is increasingly recognized as a key driver of job creation, giving rise to a range of fast-growing professions, from energy maintenance to home automation. The new regulatory framework is designed to support the development of a national ecosystem of specialized companies, while fostering skill development and unlocking high-value economic opportunities. The MTEDD also reaffirmed its commitment to supporting all companies seeking to join this ecosystem and contribute to building a more sustainable, energy-efficient economy.
Morocco World
20-05-2025
- Business
- Morocco World
Morocco Grants First ESCO Authorization to Boost Energy Efficiency
Doha – Morocco's Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development has issued the country's first Energy Services Company (ESCO) authorization. This development implements Decree No. 2-24-153, applying Law No. 47-09 on energy efficiency published in the Official Bulletin last November. This authorization represents an important step in operationalizing the regulatory framework for energy efficiency. It builds on the ministry's ongoing efforts, including the decree on accreditation of organizations responsible for mandatory energy audits, which has already authorized 25 companies. ESCOs are a new generation of energy specialists designed to transform how buildings and facilities manage energy consumption. These companies provide comprehensive services, including energy audits, system design, implementation of efficiency measures, and ongoing monitoring. Their business model centers on energy performance contracts where payment is directly linked to actual energy savings achieved, reducing financial risk for clients. Through these performance-based contracts that connect ESCOs to their clients through measurable targets, these companies will actively work to cut energy consumption and optimize usage across various sectors including industrial, commercial, and residential buildings. Through energy performance contracts that bind ESCOs to their clients based on measurable objectives, these companies will actively help reduce energy consumption and optimize usage across various sectors. Energy efficiency is now recognized as a major driver of job creation in the sector. New careers are emerging, ranging from energy maintenance to home automation. This new regulatory framework aims to foster the development of a national ecosystem of specialized companies while promoting skills training and creating high-value economic opportunities. The Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to supporting any company wishing to join this ecosystem and contribute to building a more sustainable and energy-efficient economy. Tags: Energy Services CompanyEnergy transitionESCO
The Star
02-05-2025
- The Star
A Sahara clean-up mission
Volunteers, including tourists, picking up waste during a desert cleaning campaign, part of the Nomads Festival in Mhamid El-Ghizlane. — AFP It may be the gateway to the vast Sahara desert, but that doesn't mean it's free of that modern scourge of the environment – the rubbish humanity discards. In southern Morocco, volunteers are hunting for waste embedded in the sand, and they don't have to look far. Bottles, plastic bags ... 'there are all kinds', noted one helper who has come forward to join the initiative cleaning up the edge of a village bordering the Sahara. The initiative marks the 20th International Nomads Festival, which is held in mid-April every year in M'Hamid El Ghizlane in Zagora province in southeast Morocco. Some 50 people, gloved and equipped with rubbish bags, toiled away for five hours – and collected between 400kg and 600kg of waste, the organisers estimated. 'Clean-up initiatives usually focus on beaches and forests,' said festival founder Nouredine Bougrab, who lives in the village of some 6,600 people. 'But then the desert also suffers from pollution.' The campaign brings together artists, activists and foreign tourists, and is a call for the 'world's deserts to be protected', said the Bougrab, 46. Bougrab said the clean-up began at the northern entrance of the village 'which was badly affected by pollution' and extended through to the other end of town and the beginning of the 'Great Desert'. The rubbish is 'mainly linked to the massive production of plastic products, low recycling rates and atmospheric pollutants carried by the wind', said anthropologist Mustapha Naimi. Morocco has a population of almost 37 million and they generate about 8.2 million tons of household waste each year, according to the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development. 'This is equivalent to 811 times the weight of the Eiffel Tower – enough to fill 2,780 Olympic swimming pools with compacted waste,' said Hassan Chouaouta, an international expert in sustainable strategic development. Of this amount, 'between six and seven percent' is recycled, he said. Their morning alarm went off 'early', according to one volunteer, New York-based French photographer Ronald Le Floch who said the initiative's aim was 'to show that it's important to take care of this type of environment'. Another helper was Ousmane Ag Oumar, a 35-year-old Malian member of Imarhan Timbuktu, a Tuareg blues group. He called the waste a direct danger to livestock, which are essential to the subsistence of nomadic communities. Anthropologist Naimi agreed: 'Plastic waste harms the Saharan environment as it contaminates the land, pasture, rivers and nomadic areas,' he said. Pastoral nomadism is a millennia-old way of life based on seasonal mobility and available pasture for livestock. But it is on the wane in Morocco, weakened by climate change and with nomadic communities now tending to stay in one place. The most recent official census of nomads in Morocco dates to 2014, and returned a nomadic population of 25,274 – 63% lower than a decade earlier in 2004. Mohammed Mahdi, a professor of rural sociology, said the country's nomads have 'not benefited from much state support, compared to subsidies granted to agriculture, especially for products intended for export'. 'We give very little to nomadic herders, and a good number have gone bankrupt and given up,' he said. Mohamed Oujaa, 50, is leader of The Sand Pigeons group who specialise in the 'gnawa' music practised in the Maghreb by the descendants of black slaves. For him, a clean environment is vital for future generations, and he hopes the initiative will be 'just the first in a series of campaigns to clean up the desert'. – AFP
Arab News
25-04-2025
- Arab News
Morocco volunteers on Sahara clean-up mission
M'HAMID EL GHIZLANE:It may be the gateway to the vast Sahara desert, but that does not mean it's free of that modern scourge of the environment — the rubbish humanity discards. In southern Morocco, volunteers are hunting for waste embedded in the sand, and they do not have to look far. Bottles, plastic bags — 'there are all kinds,' noted one helper who has joined the initiative cleaning up the edge of a village bordering the Sahara. The initiative marks the 20th International Nomads Festival, which is held in mid-April every year in M'Hamid El Ghizlane in Zagora province in southeast Morocco. Around 50 people, gloved and equipped with rubbish bags, toiled away for five hours — and collected 400 to 600 kilos of waste, the organizers estimated. 'Clean-up initiatives usually focus on beaches and forests,' festival founder Noureddine Bougrab, who lives in the village of around 6,600 people, told AFP. 'But the desert also suffers from pollution.' The campaign brings together artists, activists and foreign tourists, and is a call for the 'world's deserts to be protected,' said Bougrab, 46. He said the clean-up began at the northern entrance of the village, 'which was badly affected by pollution,' and extended through to the other end of town and the beginning of the 'Great Desert.' The rubbish is 'mainly linked to the massive production of plastic products, low recycling rates and atmospheric pollutants carried by the wind,' said anthropologist Mustapha Naimi. Morocco has a population of almost 37 million and they generate about 8.2 million tons of household waste each year, according to the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development. 'This is equivalent to 811 times the weight of the Eiffel Tower — enough to fill 2,780 Olympic swimming pools with compacted waste,' said Hassan Chouaouta, an international expert in sustainable strategic development. Of this amount, 'between six and seven percent' is recycled, he said. Their morning alarm went off 'early,' according to one volunteer, New York-based French photographer Ronan Le Floch, who said the initiative's aim was 'to show that it's important to take care of this type of environment.' Another helper was Ousmane Ag Oumar, a 35-year-old Malian member of Imarhan Timbuktu, a Tuareg blues group. He called the waste a direct danger to livestock, which are essential to the subsistence of nomadic communities. Naimi, the anthropologist, agreed. 'Plastic waste harms the Saharan environment as it contaminates the land, pasture, rivers and nomadic areas,' he said. Pastoral nomadism is a millennia-old way of life based on seasonal mobility and available pasture for livestock. But it is on the wane in Morocco, weakened by climate change and with nomadic communities now tending to stay in one place. The most recent official census of nomads in Morocco dates to 2014, and returned a population of 25,274 — 63 percent lower than a decade earlier in 2004. Mohammed Mahdi, a professor of rural sociology, said the country's nomads had 'not benefited from much state support, compared to subsidies granted to agriculture, especially for products intended for export.' 'We give very little to nomadic herders, and a good number have gone bankrupt and given up,' he said. Mohamed Oujaa, 50, is leader of The Sand Pigeons, a group that specializes in the 'gnawa' music practiced in the Maghreb by the descendants of black slaves. For him, a clean environment is vital for future generations, and he hopes the initiative will be 'just the first in a series of campaigns to clean up the desert.'
The Sun
24-04-2025
- The Sun
Morocco volunteers on Sahara clean-up mission
M'HAMID EL GHIZLANE: It may be the gateway to the vast Sahara desert, but that does not mean it's free of that modern scourge of the environment -- the rubbish humanity discards. In southern Morocco, volunteers are hunting for waste embedded in the sand, and they do not have to look far. Bottles, plastic bags -- 'there are all kinds', noted one helper who has joined the initiative cleaning up the edge of a village bordering the Sahara. The initiative marks the 20th International Nomads Festival, which is held in mid-April every year in M'Hamid El Ghizlane in Zagora province in southeast Morocco. Around 50 people, gloved and equipped with rubbish bags, toiled away for five hours -- and collected 400 to 600 kilos of waste, the organisers estimated. 'Clean-up initiatives usually focus on beaches and forests,' festival founder Nouredine Bougrab, who lives in the village of around 6,600 people, told AFP. 'But the desert also suffers from pollution.' The campaign brings together artists, activists and foreign tourists, and is a call for the 'world's deserts to be protected', said Bougrab, 46. He said the clean-up began at the northern entrance of the village, 'which was badly affected by pollution', and extended through to the other end of town and the beginning of the 'Great Desert'. The rubbish is 'mainly linked to the massive production of plastic products, low recycling rates and atmospheric pollutants carried by the wind', said anthropologist Mustapha Naimi. Morocco has a population of almost 37 million and they generate about 8.2 million tons of household waste each year, according to the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development. 'This is equivalent to 811 times the weight of the Eiffel Tower -- enough to fill 2,780 Olympic swimming pools with compacted waste,' said Hassan Chouaouta, an international expert in sustainable strategic development. Of this amount, 'between six and seven percent' is recycled, he said. Ancient way of life Their morning alarm went off 'early', according to one volunteer, New York-based French photographer Ronald Le Floch, who said the initiative's aim was 'to show that it's important to take care of this type of environment'. Another helper was Ousmane Ag Oumar, a 35-year-old Malian member of Imarhan Timbuktu, a Tuareg blues group. He called the waste a direct danger to livestock, which are essential to the subsistence of nomadic communities. Naimi, the anthropologist, agreed. 'Plastic waste harms the Saharan environment as it contaminates the land, pasture, rivers and nomadic areas,' he said. Pastoral nomadism is a millennia-old way of life based on seasonal mobility and available pasture for livestock. But it is on the wane in Morocco, weakened by climate change and with nomadic communities now tending to stay in one place. The most recent official census of nomads in Morocco dates to 2014, and returned a population of 25,274 -- 63 percent lower than a decade earlier in 2004. Mohammed Mahdi, a professor of rural sociology, said the country's nomads had 'not benefited from much state support, compared to subsidies granted to agriculture, especially for products intended for export'. 'We give very little to nomadic herders, and a good number have gone bankrupt and given up,' he said. Mohamed Oujaa, 50, is leader of The Sand Pigeons, a group that specialises in the 'gnawa' music practised in the Maghreb by the descendants of black slaves. For him, a clean environment is vital for future generations, and he hopes the initiative will be 'just the first in a series of campaigns to clean up the desert'.
