WORLD BANK ASSESSMENT LETTER FOR THE RESILIENCE AND
                 SUSTAINABILITY FACILITY FOR MOROCCO
                                          October 25, 2024


This update to the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) Assessment Letter – Morocco (dated
September 15, 2023) highlights relevant changes that have occurred since the issuance of the first
Assessment Letter.1

A.     Country Vulnerability to Climate Change Including Human, Social and Economic
Costs for the Country Arising from Climate Change Vulnerabilities

    Adverse climate conditions are resulting in a large contraction of the agricultural sector and job
    losses. High temperatures and low precipitation have resulted in a 43 percent contraction of cereal
    production in the 2023-24 campaign. As a result, the agricultural sector’s value added declined by 4.5
    percent during the second quarter of 2024, which contributes to the loss of 141, 000 jobs in rural areas
    (second quarter 2024, YOY).

B.    Government Policies and Commitments in Terms of Climate Change Adaptation
and Priority Areas to Strengthen Resilience

No updates since last assessment letter.

C.    Government Policies and Commitments in Terms of Climate Change Mitigation
and Priority Areas to Reduce GHG Emissions

    Morocco has made progress with the preparation of a Long-Term Low Emission Development
    Strategy (LT-LEDS). The strategy, presented at the Conference of the Parties (COP28), explores a
    pathway for Morocco to reach net zero emissions in 2050. The authorities are working on a
    macroeconomic modelling exercise to gain a better understanding of the impacts that the
    implementation of the strategy would have on the economy. The strategy is still pending finalization
    and has not been officially endorsed by the Moroccan government.

D.     Any other Challenges, Including Inter or Cross-Sectoral, Policy Reversals or
Institutional Capacity Issues, to be Addressed to Make Progress in Tackling Climate
Risks and any Ownership/Policy Related Issues

    No updates since last assessment letter.

1
 The original Assessment Letter can be found in the second attachment of the October 2023 Morocco Request for
an Arrangement Under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility .
E.         WB Engagement in the Area of Climate Change

      The Climate-Support to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) PforR (P178763) supports the
      government to maximize public funding for the measures to be included in the updated NDCs (to be
      submitted to the UNFCCC at COP 30).2 This PforR supports the Government of Morocco
      (GoM)/Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) to implement its commitments to the “Helsinki
      Principles” for using fiscal planning, budgeting, public investment management and procurement
      practices as instruments to accelerate the climate transition. More specifically, the Climate PforR helps
      (i) promote a greater alignment between the NDCs and fiscal and economic priorities as outlined in
      the annual Budget; and (ii) prepare for a future emission of sovereign Green/Sustainable bonds.


      Rapid Response Option (RRO). During the April 2024 Spring Meetings, Morocco expressed immediate
      interest for the new Rapid Response Option (RRO), offered as a central feature of the World Bank’s
      new Crisis Preparedness and Response Toolkit. The RRO omnibus amendment was signed in May 2024,
      which makes Morocco the first country in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to embed
      RRO in their portfolio. The Bank is now working on identifying whether to prepare a Contingent
      Emergency Response Project (CERP) and/or Development Policy Financing with a Catastrophe
      Deferred Drawdown Option (DPF Cat -DDO) to allow the repurposing of up to 10 percent undisbursed
      balances in Investment Project Financing (IPF) and Program-for-Results (PforR) operations per year for
      crisis response.

      Green Finance Strategy. The World Bank provided extensive technical assistance during the
      preparation of the Green Finance Strategy (cf. action under the RSF). The World Bank also supports
      the preparation of the green finance taxonomy to be delivered by the end of 2025.




2
    https://projects.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/project-detail/P178763