Strengthening National Climate Change Policies (MO0068)

Description of the Commitment What is the public issue to which this commitment responds?

Deeply engaged in international efforts to combat climate change, the Kingdom of Morocco ranks among the world’s leaders in climate performance. According to a report presented at the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), held in Baku, Azerbaijan, Morocco “maintains its status as a global leader in the race toward carbon neutrality, ranking 8th in the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2025.” According to CCPI experts, Morocco is a major regional player in sustainable development and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction. These achievements stem from public policies implemented to promote a green and sustainable economy. The House of Representatives, as the legislative authority, plays a key role in this national momentum by exercising its prerogatives of legislation, oversight, evaluation of public policies, as well as parliamentary and participatory diplomacy, while remaining open to its economic, social, and academic environment. Consolidating national achievements in sustainability and green economy requires legislative support, parliamentary monitoring and oversight for better governance, and institutional evaluation to measure the impact of public policies to combat climate change on overall development and the population’s daily life. The involvement of social actors (CSOs) and the media in parliamentary action on climate change, as in other areas, can enhance transparency, citizen participation and accountability in climate change-related actions. This is fully in line with the provisions of the Kingdom's Constitution, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the international climate agreements to which Morocco is a party. However, it has been noted that the involvement of CSOs in public action on climate change needs to be strengthened and supported. The implementation of constitutional and legislative provisions on citizen participation can establish frameworks for dialogue and consultation on the implementation of national strategies for environmental sustainability.

What does this commitment consist of?

Specific Commitments At the Level of Legislative Work: ✓ Ensure the adoption of legislative initiatives to: o Frame, support, and institutionalize national policies on sustainable development, energy transition, and combating the drivers of climate change. o Protect vulnerable ecosystems. o Advocate for integrating the concept of green finance into the State Budget. o Ensure the harmonization of national climate legislation with international instruments duly ratified by the Kingdom. o Codification of laws: consolidate and harmonize legislative texts relating to climate change to facilitate their application and monitoring. o Systematically integrate climate concerns into bills and legislative proposals. o Create a “green law” label to identify texts contributing to sustainability objectives. o Establish a mandatory climate clause for the environmental impact analysis of laws.

At the Level of Control of Government Action:

Parliamentary questions and hearings in standing committees: ✓ Question the government on climate action and results of current public policies. ✓ Question the government on compliance with commitments related to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). ✓ Monitor commitments made by government members during public sessions, committee hearings, and legislative adoption, which are recorded and classified by sector by parliamentary administration. ✓ Question the government on the implementation of laws on climate, green economy, energy transition, and sustainability. ✓ Establish fact -finding missions, when necessary, to examine the state of implementation of climate commitments, NDCs, progress of major projects within the energy transition, and the preservation of natural resources. ✓ Establish a parliamentary open data dashboard to track climate commitments (NDCs, national strategies). ✓ Organize fact -finding missions and parliamentary hearings on sectoral climate policies. ✓ Integrate a thematic AI climate assistant to analyse debates, detect gaps, and recommend adjustments. At the Level of Evaluation of Public Policies : Participatory evaluation of laws and strategies: ✓ Conduct ex-post evaluations of the impact of laws related to sustainable development, involving citizens, CSOs, and experts in assessing climate policies. ✓ Integrate the climate dimension into evaluation operations conducted by the House. Performance Indicators: ✓ Develop key indicators to measure the effectiveness and impact of climate and green economy policies (e.g., emissions reduction, increased share of renewable energy in national consumption, water conservation, reforestation).

At the Level of Parliamentary Diplomacy:

The House of Representatives contributes in a qualitative and dynamic way to parliamentary diplomacy at regional, continental, and global levels. Issues of sustainability, environmental protection, and the right to sustainable development are central to the House’s advocacy in parliamentary diplomacy. To this end, the House will continue its commitment to strengthen inter-parliamentary alliances for climate by: ✓ Actively participating in the activities of multilateral parliamentary organizations on climate, ✓ Promoting best practices, and sharing Morocco’s experiences and successes in legislation, oversight, and evaluation of climate policies with other parliaments, ✓ Promoting South-South cooperation and develop partnerships at regional and continental levels on climate issues and pathways forward.

At the Level of Internal Governance and the House’s Contribution to National Climate Efforts:
Despite the House’s relatively low energy and water consumption, it has pursued for years a strict policy of conserving water and electricity by producing more than 50% of its energy needs from renewable sources, in the spirit of shared responsibility and leading by example. Adoption of a Green Charter of the House: energy efficiency, paperless operations, responsible procurement. A sustained digitalization effort aims to achieve zero paper and consumables, reducing environmental impact. Guided by the House’s political leadership, these efforts will continue, be shared, and promoted, especially to young people (students, pupils) and social actors visiting the House’s premises.

Citizen Participation and Climate Education:

• Launch an interactive platform for citizen participation on environmentally impactful laws (co-drafting, annotations). • Organize public consultations and youth debates (“Youth Parliament for Climate”).

Communication and Environmental Awareness: • Produce educational multimedia content (videos, infographics) on parliamentary climate action. • Partner with the press and media to showcase Parliament’s ecological initiatives.

How will this commitment help solve the public issue?

This commitment on climate change positions the House of Representatives as a key institutional actor through multiple levers of legislation, oversight, and evaluation of climate public policies, in addition to parliamentary diplomacy actions to support joint initiatives to combat climate change. By mobilizing social actors through citizen initiatives in training, advocacy, and monitoring of climate issues, the House positions itself as an institution promoting climate, sustainability, and the right to a healthy environment as enshrined in the Constitution of the Kingdom. Through this commitment, the House echoes Morocco’s commitments and actions at the international level for climate.

Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values?

This commitment will allow: ✓ Strengthening Transparency and Openness: o Open data: climate-related data published in accessible and reusable formats. o Access to information: ensuring citizens’ access to information and legislative documents, including delays in publishing implementing texts related to NDCs. o Collecting citizens’ comments. ✓ Promoting Citizen Participation: o Public consultations: online and in-person consultations for any climate-related initiative. o Collaboration platforms: use of digital tools to facilitate participation. ✓ Accountability : o Online citizen appeals to report legal gaps or complexities and delays in publishing implementing texts related to NDCs.

Key Activities with Deliverables and Verifiable Results | Start Date: | End Date:

✓ TWO specialized training sessions for MPs and staff. ✓ ONE guide on national and international standards on climate change. ✓ THREE seminars and workshops to deepen debate on climate change issues. ✓ THREE interactive workshops: simulations of parliamentary debates (e.g., “Children’s Parliament,” International Book and Publishing Fair (SIEL) 2026-2027 and 2028). ✓ TWO legislative education courses including practical case studies. | July 2025 | June 2028

✓ ONE interactive platform for animated explanations of laws (videos, infographics). ✓ ONE awareness campaign on social networks on the role of Parliament on climate change ✓ Open data portal: real-time access to legislative data. July 2025 ″ ″ ✓ TWO online public consultations on legislative initiatives related to climate change. ✓ ONE digital citizen requests platform related to climate change.
✓ Monitoring and Evaluation Indicators 1. Number of climate data published on the digital platform. 2. Number of public consultations held and citizen contributions collected. 3. Number of reports published on climate issues. 4. Number of legislative initiatives and incentive measures adopted to combat climate change. 5. Number of oversight initiatives and incentive measures adopted for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing climate resilience. 6. Number of evaluation initiatives adopted to combat climate change. | July 2025