The King of the Kingdom of Morocco, Mohammed VI, commanded the efforts invested by the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) in the promotion of multi-faceted joint Islamic action, namely in the environmental field, thanks to its largely important academic, cultural and religious dimensions necessary to achieve sustainable development and protect the environment.

This came in a message His Majesty addressed to the participants in the Eighth Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers, which kicked off today morning, at ISESCO headquarters in Rabat, under His Majesty’s high patronage.

In his message, His Majesty King Mohammed VI reiterated his congratulations to Dr. Salim M. AlMalik on his appointment as ISESCO Director General and wished him every success in his new mission.

His Majesty also stated that Morocco has taken the first steps toward setting up the Islamic Academy for the Environment and Sustainable Development as being a an ambitious academic project that aims to deepen academic thinking, raise awareness about the current and future environmental and development challenges and determine how to tackle challenges in the areas of governance, science, technology and capacity-building. In addition, His Majesty revealed that one of the Academy’s objectives is to be a leader in the field of sustainable development, while being keen on using working methods inspired by Islamic culture with regards to exploiting natural resources.

“The fact that necessary measures must be taken to ensure that the Academy is affiliated with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has been emphasized. This would enable the Academy to use international cooperation mechanisms in order to ensure optimal performance and play its role fully within the OIC by interacting with similar regional and international institutions”, his Majesty added.

In addition, the royal message pointed out that the issues pertaining to the environment and sustainable development are among the major challenges faced by the world, citing the fact that many international studies point to an unprecedented depletion of natural resources, a dramatic rise in pollution levels and a major disruption of the global environmental balance. This situation, His Majesty added, has serious and alarming consequences for the planet today, including evident adverse impacts on the economic, social and health situation.

In this vein, His Majesty underscored that pressing environmental problems and their negative effects, on which political and geographical borders have no bearing, can be tackled through close cooperation between states and that no single country can effectively address these problems on its own, whatever its capacities.

The royal message also touched on the efforts Morocco delivers to develop the mechanisms specific to environmental action. In this regard, His Majesty stated that his country had embarked on a collective mobilization process, domestically and at the international level and had been pursuing a proactive policy for the preservation of the environment, through mustering energies and pooling efforts for the achievement of sustainable development, in which the preservation of the environment is mainstreamed in all development plans and sectoral development strategies. He also added that enshrining the right to a safe environment in the Constitution was one more step that established Morocco’s resolute commitment to environment preservation.

The royal message also highlighted Morocco’s involvement in accelerating the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030 by the adoption of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development, for which a participatory approach was used to integrate socioeconomic and environmental dimensions based on a clear constitutional and legal frame of reference.

 As part of this strategy, His Majesty asserts, a framework for governance and a set of sectoral plans for sustainable development have been established with a view to promoting the transition to a green economy by 2030.

His Majesty announced the creation of a competence center on climate change as a means to accompany and support national actors and promote South-South cooperation, particularly with Muslim and African countries.

Moreover, His Majesty announced that his country had set for itself the goal of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 42% and that this objective would be achieved mostly through the implementation of the National Energy Strategy under which Morocco seeks to increase the share of electricity generation from renewable energy sources through several major pilot projects that concern solar, wind and hydro power.

His Majesty also stressed the importance of collective environmental action and its role in strengthening joint Islamic cooperation through complementarity, coordination and the exchange of know-how and experiences between Muslim countries.

At the close of his message, His Majesty expressed confidence that the constructive academic debate and the appropriate proposals and recommendations that will be made at this important conference will have a positive impact on the promotion of environmental and sustainable development issues in the Islamic world.