CEO International Magazine puts Morocco on list of countries most responsive to climate change
CEO International Magazine’s recent climate responsiveness survey has ranked Morocco sixth out of 63 countries globally, granting a strong score of 69.82 points for making substantial progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel use.
Morocco stands out as the first in the Mena region. Egypt has secured the 18th position, besides South Africa in the 42st spot and Algeria in the 50th. Denmark in Europe retained its top spot for the third year. Estonia and the Philippines came next.
This development builds upon Morocco’s previous achievements. In the 2023 Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) by Germanwatch, the country ranked fourth globally. Through robust policies, Morocco is on track to achieve a 45.5% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030.
Climate Change Performance Index: Results
Published annually since 2005, the CCPI is an independent monitoring tool for keeping track of the climate protection performance of 59 countries and the EU. It seeks to enhance transparency in climate politics and enables comparison of climate protection efforts.
In the CCPI 2023 ranking, Denmark acquired the best spot. But no country performed good enough in all index categories to get an overall ‘very high’ rating. Therefore, the first three spots in the ranking remain empty. Denmark is followed by Sweden, Chile, Morocco and India.
The Climate Change Performance Index has been assessing multiple countries’ performance in four different categories: greenhouse gas emissions (40% of the overall ranking), climate policy (20%), renewable energy (20%) and energy use (20%).
Imperative than ever to meet goals of Paris agreement
Since hosting the COP22 climate conference in 2016, Morocco has been consistently pursuing a sustainable energy transition. The country is aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050 and its notable investments in green hydrogen projects further highlight this commitment.
It has become more imperative than ever to meet the objectives of the 2015 Paris agreement. The deal seeks to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels to prevent the brutal consequences of climate change from haunting vulnerables any more.
But several scientific studies have stressed that Earth is currently on track for an expected heating of 2.7 degrees by 2100. Earlier this month, Johan Rockstrom, the director of Germany’s Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said: “It is time to buckle up.”
Earth experiences hottest March on record: CCCS
Rockstrom called on global leaders to put in more effort to prevent irreversible damage to the planet, underscoring the pressing need to put aside distrust and geopolitical concerns to deliver on decarbonisation commitments as soon as possible.
The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service dropped another crucial announcement recently as it noted that the global community just experienced its hottest March on record due to a combined effect of El Nino and climate change.
The global average temperature for the last 12 months is 1.58 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average. But does it imply a permanent breach of the Paris deal? It does not as such a situation requires long-term temperature surges over numerous years.
Read More: CCPI 2024: Results are concerning as first three spots remain empty
