Majida El Ouardirhi, Secretary-General of the Department for Housing and City Policy at the Ministry of National Territory Planning, Urban Planning, Housing and City Policy of the Kingdom of Morocco, has been strongly committed ever since the beginnings of the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC). Her speeches during the latest GlobalABC Annual Assembly shed a very valuable light on the importance of rising to the challenge of adapting buildings to climate change in the MENA region, as well as on the pioneering role played by Morocco in this collective mobilisation, necessary on a global scale. Ms. El Ouardirhi gave a very positive assessment of the GlobalABC, whose achievements over the past six years reflect the relevance and quality of the actions undertaken, of the partnerships developed and the documents / strategies / guidelines that have been produced.
This global Alliance, as an international network created following COP21, has continued to grow and now includes many actors and stakeholders committed to accelerating the momentum towards a resilient, low-carbon construction sector.
Much remains to be done
Climate change, Ms. El Ouardirhi recalled, is a major and pervasive concern that poses a profound threat to the social, economic and environmental development of all countries. She highlighted:
According to a study by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the climate is expected to be warmer and drier in most MENA countries, with rising temperatures and reduced rainfall, leading to more and more severe droughts. A consequence that is unfortunately already being observed in Morocco like many other countries in the region.
Climate change also poses many challenges for the region's cities, which are genuine centres of economic, political, social and cultural activity. Rising sea levels could affect many of the region's coastal cities, with around 65% of the region's population living in urban areas, higher than the global average of 55%. Cities consume 78% of the energy and generate more than 60% of greenhouse gas emissions.
"By 2050, the number of people in the MENA region is expected to double," recalled Ms. El Ouardirhi. This very strong demographic growth combined with the increase in the global standard of living will obviously lead to an increase in housing needs and a strong growth in energy and electricity consumption.
The role and action of the Kingdom of Morocco
Ms. El Ouardirhi explained that the Kingdom of Morocco has committed itself, under the impetus of His Majesty the King Mohammed VI may god assist him, to making sustainable development a societal matter through successive reforms and ambitious national plans, thus falling within the various global agendas for sustainable development and the fight against the effects of climate change. The Kingdom of Morocco adopted its national strategy for sustainable development in 2017 and devotes a very important section there to the fight against the effects of climate change.
Morocco's overall updated global target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is 45%, roughly by 2030, Madame the Secretary-General said. The building sector represents a 6% share of the overall cumulative effort for the period 2020-2030. In addition, the Kingdom of Morocco has just put in place its new development model designed within the framework of an inclusive and participatory approach. Its key directions include the resilience and sustainability of territories as a fundamental issue, as well as access to a decent and sustainable living environment. This is part of a coherent regulatory and normative framework, of which the noteworthy thermic regulation which came into force in 2015 and which constitutes the necessary basis for this transition of the sector.
Like other southern Mediterranean countries, the building sector in Morocco is one of the major energy consumers with a share of about 33.6% of final energy consumption. It is the second sector after transport, with 25.4% of final consumption from residential buildings.
Thus, climate action in the sector represents an opportunity to launch a new generation of buildings with a low carbon footprint, while achieving energy savings.
Collaboration and partnership
The sector is characterised by a multitude of actors, in Morocco as elsewhere. It is therefore essential to establish structured and sustainable frameworks for partnership and for convergence
In this respect, national alliances bringing together public authorities, professionals from the sector, civil society and the financial sector, make it possible to develop a vision for the fight against climate change. This awareness is also essential to exploit the economic, social and environmental opportunities that climate action brings about: creating jobs, adding value, stimulating investment and of course improving the quality of life for citizens. It is also essential to develop collaboration and partnership with local and regional authorities, for a territorialised climate action.
In conclusion, Ms. El Ouardirhi stressed the importance of networking between countries in the Global North and Global South for better technical and financial collaboration and for more expertise sharing in this field. She encouraged the increase of pilot projects and shared initiatives, and invited the countries around the Mediterranean rim to federate their efforts in acting on behalf of a better environment.
