The UN’s Clean Development Mechanism has been considering supporting the work of the Moroccan King in occupied Western Sahara, in partnership with German company Siemens. WSRW asks the UN to reconsider.
At the same time that the UN is working hard to create trust between the parties to negotiate a solution to the conflict, the same UN is now considering to finance the King of Morocco’s personal companies doing business in the occupied territory.
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) was established under the Kyoto protocol to promote clean development in developing countries.
The mechanism is now considering an application to finance the construction of the Foum El Oued Wind Farm Project. A Project Design Document details the proposed construction and operation of forty-four 2.3 megawatt turbines in “a 100 megawatt (MW) grid-connected wind farm in the municipality of Laayoune, 9 km east of the wharf in the south of Morocco [sic]”.
However, the mentioned municipality is not in Morocco, but in the territory that Morocco illegally occupies in Western Sahara, under UN condemnation.
NAREVA Holding, a Moroccan industrial and financial group is to own and operate the wind farm. According to a recent book regarding the Moroccan king’s personal wealth, Nareva is controlled by the royal family.
The project currently remains at the validation stage and so at the present time has not yet been granted final approval. CDM financing is said to be required to ensure that the project is attractive to NAREVA Holding by revenues through the sale of Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs).
The highly questionable project has been questioned by many - including by Polisario, Western Sahara's liberation movement. Polisario is currently in peace talks with Morocco, exactly on the issue of natural resources management.
Western Sahara Resource Watch believes that CDM now risks to directly undermine the very same peace talks that UN is facilitating.
“The project would be done in a territory illegally occupied by Morocco and held by armed force”, stated a letter from WSRW to the UNFCCC secretariat 14 May 2012.
“We respectfully request that validation of the Foum el Oued wind park project be withheld”, the letter stated.
WSRW’s complete request to have CDM reconsider the involvement in Western Sahara is available via the webpages of the UNFCCC.
"Please stop the CDM"
The UN's Clean Development Mechanism is looking into endorsing a windfarm project, owned by the Moroccan king, in occupied Western Sahara. The Saharawi refugees don't want to see that happening.
Report: Moroccan green energy used for plunder
At COP22, beware of what you read about Morocco’s renewable energy efforts. An increasing part of the projects take place in the occupied territory of Western Sahara and is used for mineral plunder, new WSRW report documents.
Energia verde per sostenere l'occupazione nel Sahara Occidentale
L'associazione Western Sahara Resource Watch ha pubblicato oggi stesso un rapporto che descrive come il Marocco intenda costruire impanti di energia rinnovabile di più di 1000 MW (megawatt) nel Sahara Occidentale, un territorio che il Marocco occupa parzialmente.
Green energy to uphold occupation in Western Sahara
Western Sahara Resource Watch has today launched a report detailing how Morocco intends to build over 1000 MW (megawatts) of renewable energy plants in Western Sahara, a territory that Morocco partially occupies.