The president of the Tangier Municipal Council, Mr. Mounir Limouri, emphasized yesterday, Thursday, June 22, 2023, the need for collective engagement in global efforts to combat climate change, particularly with regard to reducing carbon emissions.
In a speech delivered during the opening of the third session of the Mediterranean Conference of the Parties (MedCOP), Mr. Lemori highlighted that the city of Tangier is considered one of the major industrial hubs in the Mediterranean basin. He noted that, like other Mediterranean cities, it is vulnerable to the risks of climate change and that it also bears the responsibility to take action to adapt to the effects of these risks and seek effective solutions to overcome them.
According to the President of the Tangier Municipal Council, if the first session of the “Medcop” conference, hosted by the French city of Marseille, the second session hosted by the city of Tangier, and the third session—for which we are gathered today in this very city—have institutionalized the organization of the Conference of the Parties to the Climate Convention, “then we—as leaders and heads of local communities and cities, researchers, experts, economic actors, and civil society, and above all as citizens of the Mediterranean basin—are all committed to heeding the inner call issued by this beautiful and unique sea.”
Limori pointed to the political and geographical challenges posed by the numerous changes in the region, explaining that the Mediterranean basin is currently on the verge of major geopolitical shifts.
In the same vein, the same spokesperson noted that the region is also experiencing climate change, “which we see manifesting itself in the form of unprecedented disasters, both at their source and in their aftermath. These have had a direct impact on daily life, entrenched unfair disparities in development, and created stark social inequalities among the region’s peoples.”
Mr. Lemori addressed the participants, saying: “Your two-day meeting here in Tangier is part of the effort to take concrete action to improve living conditions in a healthy environment and to adapt our actions to the challenges posed by climate change and the resulting economic and social transformations.”
He added: “Our Mediterranean basin, which faces indiscriminate terrorist threats, is vulnerable—in the short and medium term—to environmental risks that threaten the future of life and quality of life not only for the current generation, but also for future generations, with even more catastrophic losses and even greater destructive force.”
Limori noted that these realistic concerns “call on us, all to commit to action, and before that, we must listen to one another and learn from one another,” adding that “the challenges are great, the risks are real, and the responsibility that awaits us requires us to intensify our efforts, deepen mechanisms of solidarity, and share pioneering experiences and expertise.”
Mourad Benali
