How the Green Deal is transforming training and jobs in Morocco and Tunisia

The European Green Deal, a package of policy initiatives aimed at reaching climate neutrality in the EU by 2050, is also destined to impact the EU’s neighbourhood countries. One of its key provisions, in fact, is a European Carbon Tax on imports from third countries. In the SEMED region, two countries are bracing themselves, adapting to this new stress on their industries: Tunisia and Morocco.

These two countries are great economic partners to the EU, hosting many European industrial companies or outsourcing production for them, especially in the textiles and automotive sectors. The carbon tax presents a new challenge to local industries, but it also comes as an opportunity to foster green jobs in the two countries. Both have already launched training programmes on green skills such as energy efficiency, environment, wind farm technology, solar energy technology, energy auditing, maintenance, and solar water pumping. There are also some bespoke programmes made to upskill employees on the tools required to comply with the exigencies of the EU and other economic partners.

Some larger companies have also started hiring decarbonisation managers or project managers in charge of decarbonisation, positions which were previously unheard of. In this sense, the tax is an opportunity not only in terms of jobs created by renewable energy plants, but also in terms of all those jobs that are or will be created due to the new regulations related to climate neutrality.

According to a study from the Mediterranean Forum of Institutes of Economic Sciences, Morocco’s renewable energy sector could generate between 267,000 and 482,000 jobs in the country by 2040, and 30,000 domestic jobs by 2030 in Tunisia. We should expect more partnerships to arise between the EU, from one side, and Tunisia and Morocco on the other to foster training and capacity building in green skills.

References:

Amine Bennis. Power Surge: How the European Green Deal Can Succeed in Morocco and Tunisia. January 2021. Power surge: How the European Green Deal can succeed in Morocco and Tunisia – European Council on Foreign Relations (ecfr.eu)