The second day of the meetMED week, which is taking place in Marrakech between May 9 and 12, featured the MED SEI Forum, a series of round tables bringing together stakeholders and partners from the Mediterranean region to share successful experiences in delivering investments in sustainable energy (SEI).
The roundtables aimed to “facilitate and enhance the dialogue among the different participants to promote the identification of solutions and replication of best practices” to finance energy efficiency projects, according to the organizers.
Speakers at the round table included representatives of banks, financial partners, public authorities, experts, and all stakeholders involved in delivering SEIs. Each participant shared relevant financial tools, measures, and initiatives to promote energy transition in their respective countries, as well as offer visibility for existing public funds.
Representing the Egyptian Network for Sustainable Energy Investments, Sustainable Energy Expert Mostafa Hasaneen delivered a presentation during which he spoke about his country’s National Climate Change Strategy 2050 and its main goals.
These include improving infrastructure for financing climate activities and promoting domestic green banking and green credit lines, all of which are tools that aim to bridge the gap in accessing SEI financing.
Mostafa Hasaneen’s presentation on the Egyptian Network for Sustainable Energy Investments
In this regard, Hasaneen indicated that the network, which will become a permanent forum, is set to “facilitate and enhance the dialogue among the different participants, promote brainstorming and the identification of solutions and best practices.”
In an interview with Morocco World News, Hasaneen highlighted the centrality of the meetMED week, saying that it is an opportunity “to gather all the stakeholders at the same table, negotiating what are the gaps, solutions, and challenges they face in implementing sustainable energy projects.”
Morocco, a leader in sustainable energy
He went on to describe Morocco as one of the “leading” countries in the field of sustainable energy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, making it a fitted host of the second edition of the meetMED Week.
Hasaneen notably underlined the renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, as well as the climate mitigation actions, that Morocco has implemented.
In addition, he highlighted the “fruitful engagement” of the different participating stakeholders, both from Morocco and other countries of the Mediterranean region, with the aim of reaching the region’s various “strategic targets.” Among these are the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Arguing that collaboration is “the magic solution for each problem and challenge,” Hasaneen encouraged the launch of partnerships between Morocco and Egypt in the area of energy transition and sustainability.
He noted that the two countries share similar contexts, strategies, and challenges, encouraging more collaboration and sharing of expertise to “fasten the progress towards sustainability.”
The Egyptian expert said he hopes that the regional event will achieve the desired outcomes, including providing up-to-date financial tools, knowledge transfer, and sharing technical know-how.
Ambitious sustainable energy investment goals
The Secretary-General of the Mediterranean Association of National Agencies for Energy Management (MEDENER), Roberta Boniotti, indicated that the main outcome she hopes meetMED Week will achieve is establishing sustainable energy networks in all the beneficiary countries. These include Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia.
“We are working together, very closely, with Morocco to create a sustainable energy network at the national level … and all the other countries will follow,” Boniotti told Morocco World News.
The event is part of the meetMED project (Mitigation Enabling Energy Transition in the Mediterranean region), which aims to promote energy and climate transition in Southern Eastern Mediterranean countries.
The first edition of the meetMED Week took place in Cairo last year, resulting in the creation of a sustainable energy network in Egypt, Boniotti said.
“We are really convinced that this forum is needed to put all the stakeholders together to exchange opinions and new possible models on the green economy, how to sustain it, and how to sustain energy efficiency interventions,” she stressed.
Yet Boniotti argued that “public money is not enough,” highlighting the urgent need to mobilize the private sector by lowering the risks and providing guarantees. In this regard, she underlined “possibilities” with international financial institutions.
The three-day event featured a wide range of sessions and conferences, during which speakers representing different countries and institutions addressed energy and climate change-related challenges facing the Mediterranean region.
