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India hosts the 5th International Solar Alliance Assembly

The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, was held in Paris, France, from 30 November to 12 December 2015. At the conference, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former French President Francois Hollande launched the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

Thus far, four annual International Solar Alliance assemblies have been held at various locations and India is now hosting the 5th International Solar Alliance assembly, a 4-day event in New Delhi which starts today. It is expected that this assembly will draw up three global reports on Investments, Technology and Markets in the clean energy sector.

 

What is ISA?

 

The ISA is a treaty-based inter-governmental organization working to create a global market system to tap the benefits of solar power and promote clean energy applications. The ISA is an alliance of 121 signatory countries, most being sunshine countries, which lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

The Paris Declaration that established the ISA states that the countries share the collective ambition to undertake innovative and concerted efforts to reduce the cost of finance and technology for the deployment of solar generation assets. The ISA aims to pave the way for future solar generation, storage and technologies for Member countries’ needs by mobilising over USD 1000 billion by 2030. Achievement of ISA’s objectives will also strengthen the climate action in member countries, helping them fulfil the commitments expressed in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

ISA’s motto is to enable One World, One Sun, One Grid. The ISA plays a four-fold role in establishing a global solar market: it is an accelerator, an enabler, an incubator, and a facilitator.

The 5th ISA assembly is expected to be attended by about 109 of the 121 signatory countries where the key focus area of the meeting, inter alia, would be to streamline the solar sector investments in the countries where investments are not flowing at present.