The opportunities for private sector investment in climate-smart sectors in Egypt, Morocco and Jordan could reach $265bn by 2030, according to new research by the Washington-based International Finance Corporation (IFC).

The renewable energy sector is taking off in the region, with the investment opportunity in these three countries rising to $96.7bn.

This includes $50bn of potential investment in wind and $45bn in solar power.

Green building could offer $92bn of private sector investment, and transport $50bn, according to the IFC.

“Morocco, which is currently hosting the COP22 climate talks, has already become a renewable energy investment destination,” says Christian Grossmann, director of climate change at the IFC. “They don’t have fossil fuels, and they are already feeling the impact of climate change in the agricultural sector.”

Morocco could increase private sector investment in renewable energy, from which it targets 52 per cent of power generation by 2030, by developing local sources of finance and streamlining grid connections, says Grossmann.

The IFC is targeting renewables investments in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena).

“In this region, five years ago just 2 per cent of our investment portfolio went to climate activities,” says Mouayed Makhlouf, regional director of the IFC. “Last year it was 50 per cent and that number will only increase.”

In 2015, $45bn of renewables investment was made in the Mena region, of which $29bn was in solar and $12bn in wind.

“Governments have taken policy steps such as setting a percentage of energy mix as renewables,” says Makhlouf. “As an investor and an international organisation, we are supporting private sector investment and are seeing a huge push into the renewables space.”

Government are also beginning to give banks incentives to lend into the energy efficiency and renewables sectors.