EIB Vice-President Ricardo Mourinho Félix, at the conference on The EIB and climate action, a global, regional and national outlook

Good morning,

President of the Euromed University of Fes,

Students,

Friends,

It is a real pleasure to be here with you today.

Thank you very much for taking the time to be with us this morning.

I am delighted to be amongst you all at this exceptional university.

A university that is the result of a unique partnership between the government of Morocco, the European Union and the EIB.

Which further demonstrates the importance of the European Union-Morocco partnership and our high-level commitment to supporting the development of Morocco.

In the spirit of Team Europe.

What brings us here today is a climate emergency.

With COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt approaching, I wanted to take this opportunity to speak to you about the challenges and opportunities of the climate transition.

A transition towards sustainable, low-carbon economic models.

It was a natural choice for me to come to the eco-campus at Euromed University of Fes to speak about this transition.

Because you are undoubtedly the generation most aware of these challenges.

Your generation is now at the forefront of this transition.

Together, the challenge is to build this transition for your generation and the coming generations.

A transition that must be fair.

A transition that leaves nowhere and no one behind.

In this regard, I believe that the Euromed University of Fes is perfectly positioned.

Diversity is an asset, and here it is a reality.

There are 2 400 students here from more than 40 countries.

In a continent, Africa, that has impressed us all with its dynamism.

Today, Africa offers a multitude of climate-related investment opportunities.

New value chains.

From agri-food to renewable energy and traditional industrial sectors, the opportunities are huge.

As you know, innovation and technology play a key role in global transformations.

It is obvious that technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and advanced manufacturing will have a significant impact on the economy.

This is why the Euromed University of Fes is a key regional academic player.

To prepare this generation for a new, more dynamic and more skilled way of working.

Because innovation stimulates prosperity and competitiveness.

As the EU climate bank, we are sure that it is by firmly backing research and innovation,

for example at your university, that we can make a valuable contribution to economic growth and skilled employment.

I can tell you that we are proud to be helping the university to build this ultra-modern, exceptional environment.

Equipped with cutting-edge technologies, robotics, artificial intelligence, complex-objects manufacture.

Plus your new startup incubator that I have heard so much about, and which I will be visiting later.

This positioning of the Euromed University of Fes is perfectly in line with the EIB’s strategic priorities.

The EIB, as the EU climate bank, is the biggest multilateral financial institution in the world.

We provide expertise in sectors such as climate, healthcare, and the digital economy.

As well as on issues such as integration, inclusion, values and EU standards.

These sectors help to achieve sustainable development goals, as well as promoting peace, stability and security throughout the world.

I also want to acknowledge the role played by your university in this regard.

In addition to training high-level, innovative professionals, I am well aware of the importance of the values of tolerance, openness and excellence that you are learning to foster.

Values that are a source of creativity and innovation.

Before commencing our discussion, I would like to highlight the Bank's commitment to climate action.

Today, this commitment is global.

There is a ubiquitous and strong impulse to back adaptation projects and to finance clean energy using technological innovation.

Our action plan as the climate bank includes the objective of mobilising €1 trillion in investment for the climate and the environment by 2030.

This accounts for more than 50% of our total volume, including outside the European Union.

Some €35 billion per year.

In 2021 we stopped financing projects that use fossil fuels, in line with the Paris Agreement.

For several years now, the EIB has been a clear leader in the field of investment with strict environmental, social and good-governance criteria.

By way of example, we issued the world’s first green bond in 2007 and have financed more than €200 billion for the protection of the environment since 2012.

You will also undoubtedly be interested in what we are doing in the region.

Over the last ten years, the EIB has invested some €20 billion in the Middle East and North Africa.

Public sector investments worth €20 billion for major infrastructure work.

As well as the development of the private sector through our financial intermediaries.

Including banks, micro-financing, and private funds.

Significantly, over the last two years, 30% of our operations in the region have been dedicated to climate action.

This figure is going up every year.

In Morocco alone, our climate action is gaining importance year on year.

In 2021, 70% of payments were already related to structuring projects in the renewable energy sector.

This is testimony to the EIB’s impact as the climate bank.

This climate action is of particular importance.

As an energy importer, Morocco is directly affected by the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine.

Energy demand in Morocco is increasing by about 6% every year, and the development of renewable energies is vital.

And this is what Morocco is doing under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, with plans to secure more than 50% of the electricity mix from renewable sources by 2030.

Because your beautiful country has some tremendous assets.

Renewable energy resources that will increasingly be able to provide support for the economic and social development of the country in the future.

I am thinking about solar generation, which covers approximately 5% of national energy demand, up 20% compared to 2020.

Wind generation, which covers approximately 13% of national demand, an increase of 11%, and is now larger than the natural gas share.

The wind share should further increase in the future in Morocco, notably thanks to offshore wind generation potential.

In this regard, last month we signed a cooperation agreement with MASEN to finance a feasibility study.

A study that may open the way for an initial pilot offshore wind generation project in Morocco.

It will be one of the first in Africa.

And we should not forget about the blue economy.

With its Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines, Morocco is ideally positioned to develop its blue economy.

In sectors including energy and marine biotechnology.

According to the OECD, these sectors could even grow at a faster rate than the global economy.

Growth incorporating both added value and employment.

Human activity is having a negative impact on the oceans.

Global warming results in the acidification of the oceans and a reduction in their oxygen levels.

Plastic waste also has a catastrophic effect on plants, animals and other marine organisms.

This is why the EIB has decided to intensify its activity in this area through its clean and sustainable oceans programme.

And we hope to do even more in the region.

Now, what can we expect this year from COP27, which will be held from 6 to 18 November?

Recent forums on climate and sustainable development have been about finding a magic potion to deal with the emergency.

But today the situation is even more critical.

Because the world is facing a number of overlapping, worsening crises.

Climate, energy, food and pandemics.

Meanwhile, Russia is using its energy resources as a weapon to hold the world hostage.

However, the ongoing energy crisis also offers an immediate opportunity to speed up the green transition.

This is why we have prepared a significant contribution to COP27, and are working to ensure the conference is a success.

We have helped draw up the Sharm el-Sheikh handbook for equitable financing.

We are organising an event during COP27 specifically on this theme, the mobilisation of the private sector.

I hope that you will be able to join us for some of the events scheduled, which will be broadcast live.

This will be an African COP and we have a great deal of experience in the region.

We will be unveiling initiatives in the domain of food security, water, and desalination projects, as well as green innovation, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and climate-resilient cities.

We are also working closely with the European Commission and other partners on joint contributions to the fair energy transition packages in several countries, as well as to mobilise private capital and to fill any investment gaps.

 

In Morocco, I want to reiterate the EIB’s support for Morocco’s ambitious climate targets, notably to support the Nationally Determined Contribution.

The EIB has been a key partner for Morocco for 40 years.

And we are supporting your climate goal of surpassing 50% renewable energy generation by 2030.

The new investments in solar, wind and green hydrogen, as well as energy efficiency and adaptation to climate change or the blue economy are key priorities for us.

Our portfolio in the Moroccan energy sector is worth €1.5 billion.

One of the EIB's largest portfolios in Morocco.

Some flagship examples:

• Renewable energy generation infrastructure, such as the solar power plants at Ouarzazate and Midelt with MASEN.
• 850 MW of wind projects, as well as the water distribution and treatment network with ONEE.

We need to grow our climate ambitions and accelerate investment in green energy.

In order to achieve energy independence, while fighting against the climate emergency.

This is exactly what the EIB is doing.

 

Dear students,

We have all seen this summer’s droughts and fires, both in Morocco and in Europe, so I don't need to tell you that climate change is a global emergency.

A real emergency, whether or not you are a scientist.

We must act fast.

We must act together.

And we must act decisively, now.

Close, ongoing cooperation between the academic world and the private sector is one of the keys to winning this battle.

In this regard, your university definitely has a part to play.

Your president, Professor Bousmina, is perfectly aware of this reality.

We have both been university professors and know the importance of cooperation between centres of research.

Technological innovation comes from cutting-edge research.

The technologies that will shape the future carbon-free world.

All are essential players in this peaceful struggle.

The struggle to build a sustainable, resilient and fair transition to a carbon-free economy.

It will come as no surprise to anybody that we will not achieve the transition to a carbon-free economy by 2050 if we continue using today's technology.

We have a small time window to create the future.

And the time is now.

To expand the use of new technologies and to move from the pilot testing stage to industrial implementation.

To make dreams come true.

And we can do it.

Yes, we can.

But, and this is even more important, it is time to back up words with actions, to implement visible and tangible projects so that this becomes real.

To channel our commitment to climate and innovation more quickly and more efficiently.

This is the challenge that is facing us all today.

And it is no small matter.

Thank you.