The decarbonization of Moroccan industry is a major challenge. More than 65% of Moroccan exports are captured by the EU, which is resolutely determined to penalize polluting products by eventually introducing a carbon tax.
Several national initiatives reinforce the strong will of the public authorities and that of the industrialists to green Moroccan products. However, all this is not yet enough and the acceleration of the energy transition in Morocco must be done as soon as possible, as indicated in this interview, Yassine Elamine, professional expert in the field of quality management.
MoroccoLatestNews: What is meant by carbon tax?
YE: To put it simply, the carbon tax is a tax being implemented by the European Union on imported products that do not respect the environment.
The European Union has decided to set up this axis to meet two main objectives.
The first being to “green” its economy through the filtration of products to be imported according to environmental criteria. Imported products must meet very strict environmental requirements in order to guarantee their respect for the environment in order to limit the effects of global warming that our planet is experiencing.
The second criterion is to protect companies from member countries of the European Union and to boost local European production while guaranteeing them fair competition in line with environmental requirements.
Where is Morocco in this respect, especially since Europe is preparing to impose this tax next year?
There is a quite remarkable awareness in Morocco of environmental issues. More and more companies are investing in ISO 14001 environmental management systems and some are even making their electricity production autonomous.
However, the road still to be traveled by Morocco is still very long and is not favored by certain governmental provisions, the first being the absence of international recognition of our national accreditation body, the “SEMAC”, which is under the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Costs for this tax would not begin until 2026, but a three-year transition phase would begin in 2023 to negotiate and approve the final rules in time.
What carbon percentages must be respected and how are they calculated to be compatible with the criteria used for this tax?
As a first step, the European Union wants to introduce CO2 emission costs on imports of steel, cement, fertilizer, aluminum and electricity.
There are no rules known to everyone yet, but what is certain is that these rules will eventually apply. We must be ready.
A first global tariff on carbon dioxide emissions on imports of polluting goods will be announced during the next negotiations.
What is the impact of the application of this tax on the daily life of the citizen and on the climate in general?
Ultimately, this tax will have a greater impact on Moroccan industrialists in general and exporters to European Union countries in particular.
The Moroccan citizen employed in his companies will have to adapt in the years to come to the new constraints imposed by our export markets.
The production of our industrialists will be more and more respectful with the minimum of harmful impact, which will have the effect of a healthier working environment and a climate which will be less disturbed by harmful emissions and other greenhouse gases.
.