From Receiver to Sender? The Re-Alignment of Foreign Energy Policy in Morocco

How to promote clean energy and how to curb global warming are among the hot-topics of political discourse on the international stage. The need for change in global consumption and emission patterns is a broadly accepted truth. And yet, in most cases talk outweighs action. The Kingdom of Morocco, a lower-middle income country of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), is among the few nations with exceptional progress in this arena, having adopted a new energy strategy in 2009. Ascribed a ‘model’ role by the Climate Action Tracker and ranked ‘high’ by the Climate Change Performance Index, Morocco is currently considered a front-runner in the successful implementation of a clean energy transition. Its goals of increasing the share of renewable electricity generation to 52% and plans to cut 32% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 are unrivaled and attract international attention and cooperation. The Kingdom’s strive to leave behind near-entire dependency on fossil fuel imports and to become a pioneer of clean energy transition is shadowed by a second re-alignment. We argue that in the arena of renewable energy policy, Morocco began its journey as (1) a venue or secondary collaborator for (mainly) European clean energy initiatives. The most prominent example of this was the since de facto discontinued EU-MENA Desertec Initiative that pursued a transcontinental renewable energy plan in 2009. In the wake of early bilateral projects, Morocco (2) began adopting the green agenda as a feature of national branding. Projects such as Ouarzazarte’s famous NOOR Solar Power Plant bear witness to an increasingly self-confident and ‘Moroccan’ approach to energy transition. Finally, Morocco has begun (3) reorienting the momentum of its new green assertiveness toward cooperation endeavors with regional neighbors in West Africa. The country is assuming a role as influencer and provider of knowledge on renewable energy policy and technologies to other African states and is manifesting itself a leadership role. At the core of Morocco’s evolution to becoming a progressive player in the field of energy transition and sustainability lies its vulnerability to climate change and want of greater energy autonomy. However, the drivers behind this evolution reach beyond these concerns. We trace Morocco’s development from (more passive) ‘receiver’ to (proactive) ‘sender’ in regard to foreign energy policy between 2009 and 2018. Our objective is to analyze and compare the underlying motives and patterns of cooperation that shape the foreign policy dimension of the clean energy transitions. We hypothesize that the Moroccan regime uses the reforms and cooperation (a) to strengthen its international reputation as open and stable partner in the region, (b) to bolster its legitimation and strengthen national identity vis-à-vis the Moroccan population and (c) to navigate its way back into the regional fold after long periods of relative isolation.