TeraMED campaign launched at Cairo Sustainable Energy Week to gain support for a 1TW RES by 2030 target in the Mediterranean
All stakeholders are encouraged to support and promote the call to action to governments in the region
Cairo, October 1st, 2024: The Mediterranean Dialogue on Sustainable Energy and Climate (MEDSEC) launched the TeraMED campaign in Cairo on the Sustainable Energy Week (CSEW) opening day.
The TeraMED campaign aims to gather support from all stakeholders – including civil society, private sector, local, regional and international organisations – on the pathway to COP29 and issue a powerful call to action to governments in the region, accelerating deployment of renewable energy towards a target of 1 terawatt (1TW) capacity in the Mediterranean by 2030.
Grammenos Mastrojeni, Deputy Secretary General for Energy and Climate Action of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), a promoter of MEDSEC, said: “It is understood, the Mediterranean region not only needs to unite and decarbonise in face of an existential climate crisis threat; but such transition would also be an engineer of fair growth and progress. Finance agrees, industry is there, the governments back it; now it’s time to set a goal, one that can be measured: 1 terawatt, but just to start with.”
Dr. Najib H Dandachi, Executive Committee Chairman of Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE), a promoter of MEDSEC, said: “RCREEE is proud to be actively engaged in promoting and supporting the energy transition across its member States and indeed the wider community; it is in this context that RCREEE recognises and values the importance of the TeraMed campaign and endeavours towards its success.”
Jauad El-Kharraz, Cairo Sustainable Energy Week Co-Chair, said: “Boosting renewable energy in the Mediterranean is crucial for ensuring energy security andsustainability in the region. By setting such an ambitious target of 1TW renewables for 2030, we can harness the abundant solar and wind resources available, accelerate energy transition process, boost investments cadence, reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Transitioning to renewable energy not only will enhance energy independence in our beloved Mediterranean, but will also foster economic growth, create jobs, and protect the environment. A collective commitment from governments, think tanks, IGOs, NGOs, private sector and all key playersto this goal will pave the way for a resilient, clean energy future for all our Mediterranean nations.”
Giulia Giordano, Director of Mediterranean and Global Strategy at ECCO, a supporter of MEDSEC, said: “According to the IPCC the Mediterranean is a climate hotspot, increasingly affected by extreme events that expose its vulnerabilities. The region is also characterized by low levels of integration and a complex security environment. The risk of failing to achieve a just and orderly transition is extremely high, with implications for the stability of the broader Mediterranean region. A comprehensive regional strategy to unlock the region’s immense potential for solar and wind capacity is of the essence. Regional cooperation is critical to accelerate capacity deployment, including joint renewable and grid projects, harmonised regulation and governance systems, and mobilise the necessary finance. Cooperation on clean energy between the two shores of the Mediterranean can set an example for the rest of the world and relaunch trust in multilateralism.”
Hajar Khamlichi, North Africa Director at the Pooled-fund on International Energy, said: “The #TeraMED Campaign signals a transformative opportunity for the Mediterranean, not only to achieve 1TW of renewable energy by 2030 but also to drive socioeconomic growth and green industrialization across the region. Endorsed by IRENA and the Global Renewables Alliance, this bold initiative showcases the Mediterranean’s potential to lead the global energy transition. As we approach COP29 and the final NDC update cycle, we have the chance to harness renewable energy as a catalyst for job creation, economic resilience, and sustainable development. Together, we can turn climate ambition into reality and make the Mediterranean a hub for green innovation and prosperity.”
Gianni Chianetta, Chair of Greening the Islands Foundation, which manages MEDSEC’s Secretariat, said: “Developing a common vision for an accelerated and just energy transition in the region can advance the Mediterranean towards a future of stability, energy security, and broad socioeconomic development. With a crucial Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) update cycle in 2025, the last before 2030, a new climate diplomacy is essential. MEDSEC offers all stakeholders a platform to show that support for a regional decarbonisation strategy is significant and demand a change of course for a better future.”
Through heightened cooperation around a regional target of 1TW renewable capacity, the Mediterranean could play a protagonist role in contributing to the global goal to triple renewable energy capacity to 11 TW by 2030, and become a model to replicate concrete progress in other areas of the world.
Indeed, the TeraMED initiative was endorsed by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Global Renewables Alliance (GRA) at the New York Climate Week as a relevant regional transposition of the global ambition expressed in the UAE Consensus set at COP28.
The open letter supporting the campaign includes a set of key government asks to achieve this common goal, including: establishing ambitious national renewable energy targets; enhancing climate cooperation and diplomacy; designing and adopting enabling policies and regulations; expanding and modernising grid infrastructure; improving market conditions and financing mechanisms; engaging local stakeholders.
The Mediterranean region holds unique geographical, historical, cultural, and environmental characteristics, which make it a crucial crossroad for commercial, social, and energy exchanges across three continents. At the same time, it constitutes a hotspot of interconnected climate risks, instabilities, and geopolitical tensions.
MEDSEC – the first Mediterranean-led platform dedicated to multistakeholder cooperation and climate diplomacy for a just regional energy transition – builds on a vision of long-term stability, security, sustainability, and shared prosperity for all in the region through renewable energy.
