Community-driven energy transition at the heart of Marrakesh Dialogue

As climate pressures intensify across the African continent, legislators from five key countries will gather in Marrakesh from 19–21 June 2025 to accelerate green investment strategies that are rooted in both local impact and national ambition.

The second Marrakesh Green Investment Dialogue, organised by the Climate Parliament and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) with support from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), will focus on the practical rollout of Green Energy Zones and Corridors, with an emphasis on scalable, community-led solutions.This round of the dialogue will bring together Members of Parliament (MPs) from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Tanzania, building on insights from the first Marrakesh session in May. It is part of the ongoing Parliamentarians for Climate Finance project, active in 15 African countries.

From Parliament to community

At the heart of the dialogue is a dual strategy that delivers clean power directly to schools, clinics, homes and farms and larger-scale Green Energy Zones designed to host wind farms, solar fields, industrial parks. Complementing these zones, well-planned energy corridors strengthen countries regional integration and overall competitiveness.

By enabling MPs to act as bridges between national policy and grassroots demand, this zonal approach connects the small-scale challenges of rural energy access with the large-scale opportunities of green industrial development. The dialogue will explore how MPs can:

• Use their legislative and budgetary powers to initiate Green Energy Zones in their constituencies

• Bundle local projects into larger investment portfolios that appeal to development banks and private finance

• Help align national climate commitments with real-world projects that deliver jobs, clean air and resilience

• Shape a new investment narrative of power with national impact

  
  

MPs will participate in national strategy workshops, site visits and direct investor dialogues aimed at identifying barriers and opportunities for immediate action. Sessions will include:

• Climate finance tools to turn Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) into investable infrastructure

• Community-led energy solutions, including rooftop solar, clean cooking and energy storage

• Successful zone case studies, drawn from Africa, island states and other emerging models

• Investor roundtables to align finance flows with zonal priorities

Participants will also visit Morocco’s Green City of Benguerir, a model of innovation in e-mobility, sustainable cooling and public-private partnerships, reinforcing the potential of focused, geographically defined energy transitions.

Green Energy Zones in the community

Also part of the discussions will be Community Green Energy Zones (CGEZs). These are designed for speed, scale and replication. By aggregating small-scale projects like rooftop solar, battery systems, clean cookstoves and cooling infrastructure into investment-ready bundles, CGEZs create tangible pathways to improve daily life while attracting finance. Among the benefits:

• Heatwave resilience in public and private buildings

• Clean energy access for underserved communities

• Reduced reliance on charcoal through electrified cooking

• Improved livelihoods via energy for agriculture, health and education

• Job creation in installation, maintenance and supply chains

  
  

Green Energy Zones and Corridors pledge

Backed by parliamentarians, Green Energy Zones and Corridors help build national power security and regional economic integration. The Marrakesh dialogue builds on the Green Energy Zones Dialogue launched in Istanbul in 2024 and aligns with the Green Energy Zones and Corridors Pledge endorsed by 57 countries and global finance institutions ahead of COP29. With GCF readiness funding now supporting 15 African nations, the project aims to demonstrate how coordinated legislative action, coupled with practical, zonal approach can unlock the green investment Africa needs to thrive in a changing climate.

Dr Sergio Missana, Secretary General of the Climate Parliament said, “The COP29 Green Energy Zones and Corridors Pledge set out a framework for scaling up renewable energy through regional cooperation, investment-ready zones, and cross-border electricity infrastructure. The zones reduce project risk and attract capital by concentrating clean energy generation, eco-industrial development, and enabling policy in defined locations. Green energy corridors complement this by connecting supply and demand across borders. Parliamentarians play a central role in turning this vision into reality, by shaping the legislation, public financing and coordination needed to align local needs with national goals and regional systems.”