Feb 01, 2019
As my eyes get filled with the amazingly blue Moroccan sky, I start having an overwhelming feeling of pride. The CIF ten-year anniversary event is over.
We had two incredible days at the Masen facility, where every day we could actually see one of the many success of CIF and its partners, the Noor Ouarzazate solar complex.
The largest concentrated solar power plant in the world. It’s difficult to imagine, because unless you’ve been here, you can’t picture such an impressive testimonial to human ingenuity. Your eyes can see mirrors for miles and miles, as the plant is 3,000 hectares (try to picture size of 3,500 football fields all together or 1.4 square km of desert). And the impressive tower seems to be out of a Star Wars set. Not unusual for Ouarzazate, since this is where many scenes from Star Wars and other movies were filmed.
We organized the two-day event in the best possible location to provide our guests with the proof of what climate finance, coupled with a winning business model—CIF’s programmatic approach, praised by two independent evaluations as truly, deeply transformational—can do. As simple as that. Undeniably powerful.
When you witness something so special you do get the sense that the race against a changing climate can be won. It is through such remarkable accomplishments that the dialogue about multilateralism, partnership, forward-looking thinking and action, proves what we can achieve together.
Last year we visited 10 countries, had endless sleepless nights, traveled across continents, spoke with many dozens of people, farmers, bankers, entrepreneurs, government and local community officials to elevate their voices. Voices of hope, enthusiasm, pride. Voices we collected to share as broadly as possible, to counter the gloomy narratives normally surrounding climate change conversations. We have to spread the good news, the successes, the changes that governments in countries across the globe are implementing, supported by CIF and MDBs.
And the journey isn’t over. We have every intention to continue bringing the positive news and the examples that can be replicated and provide further inspiration at every level.
From my side, I am now devoted to organizing a roadshow across CIF’s donors and recipient countries, to highlight those very voices around the world, to help spark a positive, forceful narrative for joint climate action. So, if you are reading this and aren’t part of this group but are interested in the idea, do get in touch. We can all play a role in the fight against climate change, and become advocates of a different story, one that wishes to show that we can, and are moving, towards a more sustainable world.
