Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO,

Ms Patricia Espinoza, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC,

Your Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to open this session of the COP22 Education Day and to talk about a subject in which, as President of the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, I take a keen interest.

First of all, I would like to extend my thanks to Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, and Ms Patricia Espinoza, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, for their continued efforts.

Article 12 of the Paris Agreement confirms the importance of education, training and awareness-raising in the fight against climate change.

Accordingly, it is our duty, here in Marrakech, to work together to develop and improve environmental education, particularly with regard to climate.

Your Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In Morocco, the National Charter for Environment and Sustainable Development, drawn up at the behest of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, stipulates that environmental protection should be an integral part of higher and vocational education curricula.

In this regard, the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment has established a partnership with the Ministry of National Education to raise young generations’ environmental awareness. At the same time, awareness-raising programs targeting adult populations have been set up.

The Foundation has also launched a “Qualit’Air” program, which helps businesses reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated by their activities, or compensate for them by installing renewable energy in rural schools and planting trees.

With the support of our international partners (UNESCO, ISESCO, UNEP, FAO and IUCN), the Foundation has been closely involved in the presentation of “Climate Plans” for Morocco’s 12 regions. Each “Climate Plan” includes a section dedicated to education and training, which will facilitate their successful implementation. Locally elected officials will have to comprehend the challenges specific to their region and take appropriate measures to address them.

I look forward to seeing UNESCO’s conclusions on climate change and education, which will figure in the 2016 Global Report on Education.

I hope Education Day will be one of the most successful events of the COP22.