Six more countries are expected to ratify the International Solar Alliance (ISA) by December, taking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s green energy initiative for 121 sunshine countries closer to a legal status.
International Solar Alliance’s first summit will be held on 9 December in Gurugram during French President Emmanuel Macron’s three-day visit to India. The interim secretariat of ISA will become the Secretariat if a total of 15 countries ratify it. Once they do, the treaty will come into effect after a month, said a senior government official.
ISA to Bring in Over a Trillion Dollars for Renewable Energy
Launched two years ago, the International Solar Alliance couldn’t become operational as it requires a minimum of 15 countries to ratify the framework agreement for it to become a legal body.
Thirty nine countries have signed the ISA framework, while six have ratified it. These include Bangladesh, Fiji, France, India, Mauritius, Republic of Nauru, Niger, Seychelles, and Tuvalu.
The alliance is a platform for cooperation among sun-rich countries lying fully or partially between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn and are seeking to ramp up solar energy to reduce greenhouse emissions.
It was launched at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris at the end of 2015 by the President of France and the Prime Minister of India.
The alliance plans to bring in more than $1 trillion investments to promote renewable energy projects by 2030, according to its website. Promoting solar technologies, new business models, and investment in the solar sector are among the key objectives.
The French President, Indian Prime Minister, Secretary General of the United Nations, Power Ministers of France and India, World Bank president, and multi-lateral banks have been invited for the summit, an ISA official told BloombergQuint.
ISA is also planning to have 500 CEOs from Fortune 2,000 companies as corporate partners to bring in investment for solar technology.
India has been a great proving ground for solar power, from small off-grid projects to large solar parks, and its sharing of best practices, policies, documentation, and programme management skills can develop projects in member countries, said Kameswara Rao, partner-energy, utilities and mining at PriceWaterhouseCoopers India.
Rao also said, “These efforts will also reduce project risks and help attract donor money, private capital, and facilitate use of Exim Bank credit.”
(This piece was first published in BloombergQuint and has been republished with permission)
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