Hakima El Haite
.jpg)
Hakima El Haite (born 13 May 1963) is a Moroccan climate scientist, entrepreneur and politician. In 1994 she founded EauGlobe, the first environmental engineering firm in the MENA region. She served as minister delegate in charge of the environment for the Kingdom of Morocco from 2013 to 2017. In 2015, she was elected vice president of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21). She was appointed special envoy for climate change of the Kingdom of Morocco from 2015 to 2017 and the high level climate champion of the United Nations International Climate Conference (COP22) from 2016 to 2017. She is the current president of the Liberal International since December 2018, the first non-European in this post.
Quotes
[edit]Interview with Hakima El Haite, Morocco’s Minister of Environment
[edit]What role can taxes play in sustainability?
[edit]- By implementing eco-taxes and eco-contributions, our objective is to encourage long-term changes in consumption habits. The regulatory framework is clear: para-fiscal taxes help safeguard investments, strengthen the entire value chain, stimulate economic growth, and generate employment. These measures apply to specific products, such as batteries (Dh150, €13.75) and tyres (Dh6, €0.55), with the collected revenues reinvested within the sector. Additionally, significant progress has been made regarding plastic pollution — the production and sale of plastic bags will be banned starting July 2016.
What efforts are being made in Morocco with regard to managing its water resources?
[edit]- In a semi-arid country such as Morocco, we have a strong awareness of water usage. With 1800 ml of rainwater per year in the north against 200 ml in the south, we need a water transfer policy along with a water-saving policy. There will be a shortage of 5bn cu metres by 2020. To counter this, the government has launched the construction of seven desalination centres to increase resources.
MARRAKECH: Civil society vital to drive momentum on Paris Agreement targets, say Climate Champions
[edit]role to play in implementing the Paris Agreement on climate change
- I think it is very important for all of us to recognize that the non-State actors are already moving and there are many [actions], initiatives and coalitions and they are very active.
Africans can build Africa” says Morocco's Environment Champion
[edit]- I think as Africans we need to have the same voice. We need to work together to make Africa shine.
- We believe that Africans can build Africa
Climate Justice opening address - by Hakima el Haité
[edit]Climate Justice opening address - by Hakima el Haité
- Climate change is one of the most dangerous crises mankind has experienced in this century, impacting our lives
- Every time I come to the COP, I feel like we’re negotiating for who’s going to die and who’s going to live
- The links between climate, human rights and sustainable development are definitively established
- We call on our members to move from reflection to construction and to urge their government, their territorial communities, their industries to take responsibility for the development of resilient and sustainable public policies
- We are embarking on a new EIA (ère)??, a new industrial revolution
- it is to us, through the awareness of the citizens, the assistance of our governments, parliamentarians, our elected officials and our civil society that we will succeed in changing climate change
