Brussels, 09/12/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 5 December, the CDG (Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion) group and the European Investment Bank (EIB) launched and signed the Fonds Capital Carbone Maroc (FCCM).
Created on the initiative of Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion and managed by Accès Capital Atlantique S.A. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the CDG Group specialising in investment fund management), the Fonds Capital Carbone Maroc is the first fund in French-speaking Africa specially dedicated to carbon finance in Morocco, with a target size of MAD 300m (around €26.5m).
FCCM's remit is to promote and participate in the development of Moroccan projects connected with the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The CDM is a financial instrument enabling carbon credit-generating projects to re-sell these credits on the international carbon market, thereby creating an additional source of finance.
The FCCM will support Moroccan promoters in implementing their CDM projects by acquiring their carbon credits over the period 2008-2017. It will operate in the renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste management, and afforestation and reforestation sectors. CDG, which will retain 50% of the FCCM's capital, invited CDC and the EIB to join the initiative, with each taking a 25%. The EIB's investment, and the technical assistance to be provided, are financed from the European Union's budgetary resources under the European neighbourhood policy. (O.L./transl.rt)