2.7. The International Solar Alliance

♤ The International Solar Alliance is a treaty based international inter-governmental alliance of 121 solar resource rich countries lying fully or partially between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.

♤ It aims to execute innovative and concerted efforts to reduce the cost of finance and technology for the immediate deployment of assets for solar power generation. In other words, to tap solar energy at more affordable prices through aggregating both demand and risks bringing down costs and securing investments of solar developers.

♤ The International Solar Alliance (ISA) initiative was launched at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris on 30 November 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then French President Francois Hollande.

♤ The finalized ISA framework agreement, which seeks to establish ISA as a treaty based organization, was opened for signature at the 22nd CoP of the UNFCCC at Marakech, Morrocco in 2016. And it entered into force in on 6 December 2017 following ratification by Guinea as the 15th country.

♤ India hosted the first international Solar Alliance Summit on 11 March 2018 in New Delhi. The aim was to mobilise $1 trillion of investments needed by 2030 for massive deployment of solar energy to achieve the target of over 1,000 GW of solar generation capacity.

♤ ISA’s headquarters and Secretariat is in Gurugram, Haryana.

♤ The Alliance contributes towards the mutual goal of increasing utilization of solar energy and solar applications to help the world transition to a low carbon and greener society.

♤ It aims not duplicate or replicate the efforts that others (like International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership(REEEP), International Energy Agency (IEA), Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), United Nations bodies, bilateral organizations etc.) are currently engaged in, but will establish networks and develop synergies with them and supplement their efforts in a sustainable and focused manner.