Accelerating the Transition to Efficient and Climate Friendly Cooling in Morocco

In its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), Morocco has committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 45.5% below the business-as-usual scenario by 2030. To reach this target, the government aims at reducing energy consumption in the buildings sector by 14%. Hence, a set of energy efficiency measures was identified, including the implementation of minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) for domestic refrigerators and unitary air conditioners.

Following a program proposal submitted to the ClimateWorks Foundation, Econoler received grant funding to implement a comprehensive technical assistance program addressing both improved energy efficiency for the cooling sector and a hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) phase-down to accelerate the transition to efficient and climate friendly cooling and thus contribute to achieving NDC commitments.

Econoler was mandated to carry out the following tasks:

• Provided support to strengthen MEPS for cooling appliances in line with economically viable payback periods and international best practices;

• Developed mitigation scenarios to provide preliminary phase-down mechanisms for HFC refrigerants and assist in formulating policies for the HFC phase-down in line with EE improvement measures; 

• Designed a measurement, verification, and enforcement framework to support the implementation of MEPS regulations and the integrity of the cooling appliances market;

• Developed a blended finance concept as well as cooling appliance replacement mechanism using carbon revenues according to Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. 

Through the support and expertise of Econoler, Morocco finalized the regulatory framework introducing MEPS for domestic refrigerators and unitary air conditioners to exploit the untapped GHG mitigation potential in the cooling sector and contribute to reaching NDC targets.