• AIIB grants Morocco $200M loan for climate resilience
• Funds target water, environment, and climate-exposed sectors
• Morocco faces rising extreme weather, per IPCC, World Bank

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a multilateral financial institution established by China in 2015, will provide Morocco with a $200 million loan to bolster the country's climate change resilience, the Chinese Embassy in Morocco announced on Tuesday, August 19, 2025.

According to the Moroccan media Lareleve.ma, the loan is expected to finance priority projects related to strengthening environmental and water infrastructure and improving the resilience of economic sectors most exposed to climate risks.

Morocco is a country with high climate vulnerability, according to a report published in September 2024 by the World Bank. Temperatures there have been increasing by an average of 0.2°C per decade since the 1960s, double the global average of +0.1°C, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). As a result, the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, floods, and droughts, are constantly increasing, with significant negative impacts on the economy and population.

The North African country joined the AIIB in 2019. The institution, which aims to finance infrastructure projects in its member countries, represents an attempt by Beijing and its allies to break the Western dominance over the governance of existing multilateral lenders. It currently has 110 regional and non-regional member countries, including 19 African nations.

Walid Kéfi