Greenpeace has released a report highlighting the negative impacts of European countries extracting renewable energy from Morocco and Egypt to “greenwash” their own economies. The report argues that these European-backed projects are hindering the decarbonization efforts of the two North African countries, displacing local populations, and consuming scarce resources like fresh water.
Both Morocco and Egypt, while being pivotal in Europe’s quest for renewable energy, are still major net importers of fossil fuels. The report highlights issues such as soil erosion, water contamination, and reliance on dirty fuels like mazut in Egypt as consequences of these energy extraction efforts.
Despite these challenges, there is potential for growth in the renewable energy sector in both countries. Egypt, in particular, has the opportunity to become a global clean energy hub with smart investments and partnerships. In Morocco, projects like TotalEnergies’ green hydrogen plant and German investments in green hydrogen facilities show promise for export markets.
Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa campaign lead, Hanen Keskes, has called for the global north to take responsibility for reducing consumption and building domestic renewable capacity instead of shifting environmental costs to the global south. The report emphasizes the need to decolonize and transform the global financial architecture to address these issues.
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