The Bridge Tank participated at the MedCOP Climate Conference in Tangier, Morocco on the 18th and 19th of July, as part of the preparations for the COP 22. This year’s MedCOP conference was organised by the regional Council of the Tangier-Tétouan-Al Hoceima, it is the second conference of parties of the coastal states of the Mediterranean on climate change. Joël Ruet and Sophia Semlali of the Bridge Tank attended this event.

 

The MedCOP brought together 2000 decision-makers, experts and key actors in the economic and communal life of Mediterranean countries. It was an opportunity for them to contribute to the development of a Mediterranean environmental program, engaging local authorities, businesses, associations, and civil society. Several well-known personalities were present: Mr. Saïd Mouline, Director of the National Agency for the Development of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ADEREE) and head of the Public-Private Partnerships section of the COP 22, Miriam Bensaleh Chagroun, President of the General Confederation of Moroccan Entrepreneurs (CGEM), Fathallah Sijilmassi, General Secretary of the Union for the Mediterranean and Madame Hakima El Haité, climate champion and Minister for the Environment in Morocco.

 

Joël Ruet, President of the Bridge Tank, participated in a panel on the topic of “Innovation and start-ups-COP 22 Solutions” together with Amine Homman, General Director at Cofely Morocco and Abdelaziz Benjouad, Vice President of the International University of Rabat. He insisted on the importance of combining the top-down and bottom-up approaches to foster innovation: “Regulations must be able to create a favorable framework for the development of R&D and innovative solutions on the one hand, and for the unfolding of local ecosystems that favour creativity on the other hand.” He also emphasised the importance of promoting resilience solutions for areas that should be considered sources of new growth, and brought attention to the leading role Morocco plays in South-South innovation.