"As a Founding Partner Country and, above all, as a staunch African advocate for the region, the Kingdom of Morocco is determined to contribute to the achievement of the objectives set at the First Brazzaville Summit and the concrete actions recommended since," said HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa who chaired a Side Event organized under the theme "Climate Finance at the heart of the operationalization of the Climate Commission of the Congo Basin and the Blue Congo Basin Fund", as part of the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27).

Her Royal Highness noted, in this sense, the strong commitment of Morocco, at the highest level, to supporting the consolidation of the other two African Climate Commissions.

On this occasion, HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa thanked the participants in this high-level meeting organized at the initiative of the Republic of Congo, which chairs the Climate Commission of the Congo Basin, and the Kingdom of Morocco, Founding Partner of the three African Climate Commissions, stressing that their active presence at this meeting emanates from their "keen desire to contribute to the success of this commendable project which has brought us together today”.

HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa also stressed that in line with the impetus given by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the Kingdom has been carrying out a technical assistance program to back the chair of the Climate Commission of the Congo Basin, noting that Morocco has been supporting the development of the Blue Fund - F2BC - and has been sharing its expertise in terms of the fight against climate change, notably through its Climate Change Competence Center - 4C Maroc.

In this regard, Her Royal Highness recalled that the region of the Congo Basin is the second largest carbon sink in the world, stressing that its “preservation constitutes a major global challenge, and all stakeholders have a responsibility to protect it”.

In this context, HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa stressed the importance of providing the financial and technical means likely to contribute to an economic model combining sustainability and innovation in order to enable the populations concerned to be more resilient to climate change. “Should we manage to do that, the living conditions of these populations would be significantly improved,” said Her Royal Highness.

HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa also recalled the holding, in 2016 in Marrakech, at the initiative of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, of the African Heads of State and Government, during which they decided to take the continent's destiny into their own hands concerning the fight against climate change.

The Presidency of the Climate Commission of the Congo Basin was then entrusted to president of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso, whose leadership has made it possible to achieve concrete progress in the establishment of this Commission and to set up its financing instrument, the Blue Fund, said HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa, noting that “Today, Africa can look back with satisfaction at the milestones achieved.”

In this regard, more than 250 pertinent national and sub-regional projects stemming from a global vision and a coherent approach, have been carefully identified, noted Her Royal Highness, stressing that “notwithstanding the efforts made, however, this project's funding remains a major challenge that hampers our continental approach”.

“That is why the Congo Basin region should be able to count on all the continent's multilateral and bilateral partners in order to secure adequate support and benefit from climate financing mechanisms,” added HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa.

In the same vein, Her Royal Highness underlined that this high-level meeting, held on the sidelines of the 27th Conference of the Parties - the second COP conference held in Africa - attests to the continent's commitment and its desire to be part of international efforts to tackle climate change, expressing the hope that this meeting will be an “opportunity for us all, especially institutional and private donors, to realize the full range of opportunities offered by the Blue Fund for the Congo Basin”.

“The energy, financial and food impacts of the current world crisis should, under no circumstance, divert the action of states and international institutions from the imperative need to address climate change, or from the international pledges made in this regard, especially with respect to finance. The climate crisis is worsening and its manifestations are becoming increasingly devastating and deadly,” concluded Her Royal Highness, insisting that “it is, therefore, high time to take concrete, effective action”.