The energy challenges concerning the Mediterranean region, in particular the rising demand and the need for environmental protection, should be tackled by all stakeholders, through the strengthening of dialogue, collaboration and cooperation within the countries themselves and at the regional, international and global levels, between Institutions (Parliaments, Governments, Regulators), public and private operators (education, research and development, industry, trading, finance, communication), consumers, and their Associations and Representative Organizations.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) believes that a structured and comprehensive networking platform is the most suitable way forward to achieve tangible results for the future sustainability of energy production, distribution and consumption in the region. Energy issues are also closely linked to political and economic stability and social peace in the region. PAM is particularly committed to this sector and has, as recently as June 2012, dedicated a session to Energy and Infrastructure during the event dedicated to The Sustainable Economic Development in the Mediterranean Region¸ which was held in Lisbon and hosted by the Portuguese Parliament.
Topics related to these energy issues will be debated during the upcoming conference on future energy challenges, organised by PAM and the Parliament of Morocco, under the auspices of His Majesty King Mohamed VI. The debate falls within the framework of the Energy Sectoral Group of the PAM Panel on External Trade and Investments, and will be held in Ouarzazate, Morocco on 14-15 September 2012.
The event, under the title “The Energy Challenges in the Euro-Mediterranean Region”, will gather national parliamentarians from PAM member states and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and key actors and major stakeholders in the Mediterranean energy sector, such as European Financial Institutions, the UN System, the Association of Mediterranean Regulators for Electricity and Gas (MEDREG), the Association of the Mediterranean Transport System Operators (Med-TSO) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
In Ouarzazate, the focus will be on the “Present Status of Renewable sources of Energy in the Mediterranean Region and on the related institutional, regulatory, legal, technical, industrial and financial challenges in the Mediterranean” PAM Secretary General, Amb. Sergio Piazzi said, adding that “The proliferation of uncoordinated initiatives, and the need to streamline approaches, both require the outmost attention by PAM parliamentarians in order to ensure the effectiveness of policies and investments”.
This regional parliamentary hearing in Morocco builds on a series of Round Tables to identify reliable stakeholders, sustainable projects, and provide parliamentarians with concrete elements for their national and regional deliberations.
The Conference sessions will be dedicated to: Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in the Mediterranean Region; Technical and Industrial Challenges; The role of National and Regional Parliaments and International Organizations in support of ongoing and future initiatives: the need for a coherent approach. The thirdsessionwill be moderated by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), in virtue of the high level cooperation between PACE and PAM on a number of issues related to the Euro-Mediterranean region.
Participants will also receive an on-site briefing on the implementation of the Concentrated Solar Power Plant project in Ouarzazate, a first concrete step in the Euro-Mediterranean Solar Energy Plan.
Senator Lhou Lmarbouh (Morocco), PAM Rapporteur on Energy, in his intervention at the thirteenth Meeting of the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea, dedicated to “Marine renewable energies”, held at the UN Headquarters in New York, from 29 May to 1 June 2012, said that the Assembly is fully aware of the urgent need to elaborate effective methods to produce green energy and the Mediterranean region must play a key role in this process, due to its geographical position and its climate.
“Our basin has a unique potential for the production of solar energy, and several projects are being developed on the southern shore of the Mediterranean”, PAM Energy Rapporteur concluded.