Morocco’s new national climate plan aims to halt the use of coal by 2040 alongside a goal to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030, the first time the country has set a date for phasing out the fossil fuel in a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
Coal is still the biggest source of electricity in the North African country, generating more than 60% of its power in 2023, and while Morocco has made strong commitments in recent years to phase out coal, it had not set a date until now.
“The Kingdom of Morocco has stopped planning for new coal power plants,” Leila Benali, the country’s minister of energy transition and sustainable development, said in a statement, adding that the gradual phase-out of coal power and the rapid scale-up of renewable energy would boost energy security and drive economic growth.
The government said the country will need conditional support of more than $30 billion to support its climate mitigation plans, including the 2040 coal phase-out target. Without external financing, it said the phase-out would take place some time in the 2040s.
Many countries split their NDCs into two parts – one that they can achieve with their own domestic resources and an additional effort that depends on them receiving financial support from the international community. Some NDCs specify the amount of money required to implement the so-called conditional part of their pledges.
Surge in renewables
Morocco’s updated national climate plan aims to drive down greenhouse gas emissions by 53% by 2035, as against business as usual, up from the 45.5% cut by 2030 it had targeted in the previous plan.
That partly reflects progress to rapidly expand renewable energy capacity, with wind and solar supplying nearly 25% of the nation’s electricity in 2024, up from 9% in 2015.
The government said it wants to raise installed renewable energy capacity from the current 5 gigawatts (GW) to over 15 GW by 2030 in line with a COP28 pledge to triple renewables, which Morocco backed. The country’s 2021 NDC had aimed to reach 52% of installed electricity capacity from renewables by 2030.
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The new more ambitious goal “confirms [the country’s] leadership efforts in the global energy transition”, said Iskander Erzini Vernoit, co-founder of the Morocco-based think tank Imal Initiative for Climate and Development.
Renewables are rapidly becoming the least-costly alternative in many countries. A recent report by energy think-tank Ember found that renewables overtook coal as the biggest source of electricity generation in the first half of this year, slightly driving down power sector emissions globally.
The clean energy boom has gathered speed in Africa, in particular, with solar panel imports from China jumping 60% in 12 months and providing about 15 GW of electricity capacity to the continent.
Reducing reliance on US coal
Morocco’s plan to end coal use puts it “on a path from a heavy dependence on costly fossil fuel imports to a future powered by home-produced renewable energy”, said Julia Skorupska, head of secretariat at the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA).
Currently, Morocco imports large amounts of thermal coal from the United States. In 2024, African countries imported a record 6.1 million metric tons of thermal coal from the US during the first eight months of 2024 – Morocco accounted for half of that.
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Skorupska said the PPCA will help Morocco achieve its new phase-out target, adding that “setting a coal phase-out date is a crucial step that paves the way for cleaner air, good quality jobs, and cheaper energy”.
A PPCA spokesperson told Climate Home News the body will ensure this support by connecting Moroccan policymakers with technical resources tailored to the country’s needs.
Accelerating shift from coal
At COP30, the alliance also plans to host a Coal Transition Commission, co-chaired by France and Indonesia, which will publish two technical reports outlining practical actions to accelerate on-the-ground delivery of the coal transition.
With international support needed to achieve this goal, Vernoit believes the International Court of Justice ruling on polluting countries’ obligations for damages caused has made it not only expected but mandatory for developed countries to provide the necessary public finance to help realise developing countries’ climate change mitigation ambitions.
This includes providing finance “to ensure a timely phaseout of coal and other fossil fuels, as well as to accelerate deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency and other solutions,” he added.
