Imal Initiative for Climate and Development

The Imal Initiative for Climate and Development (IMAL) is the first independent non-profit North African climate think-tank — based in Morocco, with an African, Arab, and Mediterranean perspective. The think-tank aims to serve African and Arab countries by working to support the transition to a green economy and a lasting multidimensional resilience. The think-tank is named after “imal”, the word for “future” in Tamazight, the ancient indigenous language group (sometimes called Berber) still widely spoken in North Africa. The Initiative's programmatic work spans four main areas, with two core programmes, on Green Economy and on Resilience, and two cross-cutting programmes, on Diplomacy & Cooperation and on Finance & Investment. As a think-tank, the Initiative aims to make a difference by working with partners using strategic interventions in research, engagement, and advice, to inform actors across public policy, civil society, subnational entities, and the private and financial sector. The think-tank aims to help ensure that a climate-ambitious and climate-vulnerable perspective from North Africa, as well as African and Arab countries more widely, is well-represented and heard on the international stage, whilst ensuring that the region’s policymakers, civil society, and other stakeholders can benefit from the strategic advice of an independent non-profit climate think-tank that is locally integrated and globally connected. The Initiative was registered in 2022 after years of conceptualization, bringing together a founding team of Moroccans internationally recognized for their work on climate across government, civil society, international cooperation and other domains. The origins of the think-tank date back to COP22, the 2016 UN climate summit that Morocco hosted and presided over, an international endeavor that mobilized many of the co-founders, either as colleagues in the government or as engaged citizens in civil society.