Rome, 7th of February 2023 - RES4Africa Foundation, in collaboration with Enel Foundation, just released the new Policy Brief Better policies to accelerate the clean energy transition focus on COP27, the fourth of a series of publications developed within the RES4Med Initiative. The new analysis reflects on the results of COP27, held in Egypt from the 6th to the 18th of November 2022, and the MED countries' roles and perspectives.

In the last years, the effects of climate change are becoming increasingly evident, with negative records in terms of extreme weather events, temperature increase, and water scarcity being continuously broken at the global level. Despite growing concern from the public, decision-makers, and private sector, limited progress has been made in terms of mitigation and adaptation measures.

As highlighted by RES4Africa’s brand-new Policy Brief, expectations for the last COP27 were very high, especially for African governments: taking place in Sharm El-Sheik, the "African COP" focused on important topics related to Africa and the implementation of the decisions made at COP26 in Glasgow. Nevertheless, the Conference has been defined as only a partial success: in spite of some positive results achieved, such as the breakthrough on the Loss and Damage Fund, there have been disappointments, like the failure of the proposal on fossil fuels phase-out.

On the MED side, the location of COP27 in Egypt has been seen as a possible opportunity for the Southern Mediterranean countries to grow their commitments to global climate action, although the dependence of the region upon fossil fuels presents several economic and political challenges. The report also discusses how MED countries, along with the confirmation of the targets already published, promoted several initiatives. Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt have all signed the Paris Agreement, with Morocco hosting COP22 in Marrakech. Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia have all submitted Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) with Morocco's being the most ambitious, setting an emissions' reduction of 18.3% below BAU by 2030 and a renewable energy target of 52% in installed electric capacity by 2030. Algeria has committed to reducing emissions by 7-22% with external support, while Tunisia has raised its emissions' reduction pledge from 41 to 45%. Egypt's NDC consists of emissions reductions in electricity, transport and oil & gas sectors and their 2050 National Climate Change Strategy plans investments of US$211 billion for mitigation and US$112 billion for adaptation. The policy brief concludes that the MED countries have made strong pledges towards climate action, but there is still much work to be done if the region is to achieve a low-carbon future. Additionally, the report provides information on what to expect from COP28 in Abu Dhabi and the year to come.

“Renewable energy is a crucial factor in mitigating the challenging effects of climate change in North Africa. In addition to playing a central role in climate talks, a concerted effort is needed to accompany commitments with actions and unlock investments in renewable energy projects and energy efficiency. " said Roberto Vigotti, RES4Africa's Secretary-General.

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