While large Moroccan groups refine their decarbonization plans, small and medium-sized enterprises struggle to keep pace. The countdown has begun: starting in January 2026, the European Union will implement its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a tax intended to protect its industry from imports coming from countries with more lenient environmental standards. For Morocco, the stakes far exceed the initial 3.7% of affected exports: it involves a structural transformation of the entire export economy.
### An Asymmetric Shock
In this race towards net zero carbon, the imbalance is glaring. Giants like OCP, the major exporter of nitrogen fertilizers, have the resources and teams capable of accurately measuring their emissions, investing in green energy, and aligning with European standards. However, for the majority of Moroccan SMEs, the challenge is overwhelming.
According to the Economic, Social, and Environmental Council (CESE), these businesses face a triple impasse: a lack of technical skills, overly high adaptation costs, and limited access to reliable information. Conducting a carbon assessment compliant with European requirements necessitates specialized engineers, a scarce commodity in the Moroccan market. Without precise data, businesses default to exaggerated values that undermine their competitiveness.
Even if they wish to comply, the entry costs remain prohibitive: audits, certification, energy transition, industrial adaptation—all costly steps that already strain fragile profit margins.
### Brussels Eases the Burden, Rabat Wonders
Ironically, the European Commission, aware of the complexity of the mechanism, has granted its own importers several relaxations. An exemption threshold of 50 tonnes of CO₂ per year has been introduced, sparing over 90% of small European businesses. The stock of certificates required has also been reduced from 80% to 50%.
No such relief exists for Moroccan exporters, who remain subject to all obligations, regardless of their size. Worse still, their declarations will need to be validated by accredited European auditors—an additional cost and dependency in an already unbalanced equation.
### A Moroccan Carbon Tax as a Lifeline?
Cognizant of the peril, Morocco is attempting to react. Its National Low Carbon Strategy (SNBC) sets a target of carbon neutrality by 2050, and several support programs like Green Economy Development aim to assist businesses in this transition. Yet, resources remain scattered, and the timeline is tight.
Thus, the CESE puts forward a bold proposal: to establish a national carbon tax. The principle? To impose a local carbon cost so that this amount can be deducted from the European CBAM. Even better: the revenues—estimated to be between 2.7 and 3 billion dirhams annually—could fund a support fund for SMEs to finance their decarbonization investments.
Implemented gradually, starting with the most structured sectors like cement, this tax could turn a constraint into a lever. However, its implementation must be swift, coordinated, and genuinely supportive of the most vulnerable.
### A National Urgency
Time is of the essence. If Moroccan businesses do not adapt their processes before 2026, a significant portion of their exports risks being penalized or even excluded from the European market. The ecological transition, once viewed as a distant horizon, is now an economic survival imperative.
The CESE summarizes it bluntly: without targeted support and collective mobilization, the CBAM could become an insurmountable wall for a large segment of the Moroccan industrial fabric. And SMEs, despite being the backbone of the national economy, are likely to bear the brunt of this challenge.
