Morocco: Fuel Subsidy Reform Designed to Support a Just Transition to Renewable Energy

In 2014, Morocco implemented a fossil fuel subsidy reform to reduce budget vulnerability and support its climate goals, including a target of 52% renewable capacity by 2030. The government ended gasoline and fuel oil subsidies and reduced diesel subsidies, lowering spending from 42 billion dirhams in 2011 to 10.7 billion dirhams in 2016. These savings were reinvested into renewable energy projects, which reached 2,696 MW of capacity (34% of total installed capacity) by 2019. To ensure a just transition, the government maintained butane subsidies to protect poor and rural communities from rising food and energy costs, although the lack of viable alternatives to butane remains a challenge.

• Morocco significantly reduced its fossil fuel subsidy expenditure between 2011 and 2016, dropping from approximately 42 billion dirhams ($5.2 billion) to 10.7 billion dirhams ($1.1 billion).
• The government utilized the fiscal space created by subsidy reforms to invest in renewable energy, achieving 2,696 MW of renewable electricity capacity by 2019, representing 34% of the country's total installed capacity.
• To mitigate the impact on poor and rural populations, Morocco continued to subsidize butane, as it is used for cooking, lighting, and agricultural irrigation; however, this subsidy cost nearly 4% of the government budget in 2017 due to a lack of viable alternatives.
• Morocco's climate commitments include reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 42% by 2030 relative to business as usual and reaching 52% renewable capacity by 2030.
• The transition is expected to drive significant employment growth, with projections of 26,000 jobs by 2020 and up to 500,000 jobs by 2040.

APA

World Resources Institute (2021). Morocco: Fuel Subsidy Reform Designed to Support a Just Transition to Renewable Energy. https://www.wri.org/snapshots/morocco-fuel-subsidy-reform-designed-support-just-transition-renewable-energy

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Morocco: Fuel Subsidy Reform Designed to Support a Just Transition to Renewable Energy. 2021. https://www.wri.org/snapshots/morocco-fuel-subsidy-reform-designed-support-just-transition-renewable-energy.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Morocco: Fuel Subsidy Reform Designed to Support a Just Transition to Renewable Energy |date=1 April 2021 |url=https://www.wri.org/snapshots/morocco-fuel-subsidy-reform-designed-support-just-transition-renewable-energy |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2021morocco, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Morocco: Fuel Subsidy Reform Designed to Support a Just Transition to Renewable Energy}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2021}, month = apr, url = {https://www.wri.org/snapshots/morocco-fuel-subsidy-reform-designed-support-just-transition-renewable-energy}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }