Speaking from COP27 in Egypt, the president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, Renaud Muselier, has announced the creation of a one billion euro fund to protect and preserve the Mediterranean.  

In a coup of heroic proportions, Muselier revealed via a press release from COP27 that fundraising has now begun to establish an account available for ventures involving the Mediterranean Sea. Currently in Egypt, where he is joined by a delegation of French politicians and scientists, Muselier said the fund was being put together “so that environmental projects can see the light of day in the Mediterranean”.  

The infrastructure investment fund, called PAMEx Locally Investment Facility or PLIFF, is part of a wider scheme to protect the Mediterranean that was launched at the International Congress for Nature in Marseille in 2021, the Plan d’Action pour une Méditerranée Exemplaire (Action Plan for an Exemplary Mediterranean or PAMEx). The PLIFF represents its financial wing. 

“The challenge is to raise one billion euros of capital by 2024, [which is] to be deployed by 2030,” affirmed Muselier.  

The ambitious plan has a number of projects in the works, including: the creation of greener infrastructure, notably transforming ports into spaces powered by sustainably sourced electricity; to achieve zero emissions for maritime transport by 2030; a zero plastics scheme for coastal cities; and the preservation and restoration of fragile ecosystems around the Mediterranean basin. A consortium has already begun mapping “hot spots” to target.  

Muselier also revealed plans were already in motion for an event this coming December, dubbed the Mediterranean of the Future, which will allow people “to discover the first results of the pilot project for the green electrification of ports in the Mediterranean”.  

Photo source: Antoine Rakotozafy for Unsplash