International Solar Alliance

• The International Solar Alliance (ISA) hosted its 5th regional meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, supported by the Government of Rwanda, with 36 countries and Ministers of 15 countries participating.
• A total of nine solar power demonstration projects were inaugurated in the Republic of Uganda, the Union of Comoros and the Republic of Mali.
  • Four of these projects are in Uganda, two in Comoros and three in Mali.

About

• The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is an action-oriented, member-driven, collaborative platform for increased deployment of solar energy technologies as a means for bringing energy access, ensuring energy security, and driving energy transition in its member countries.
• The ISA was conceived as a joint effort by India and France to mobilize efforts against climate change through deployment of solar energy solutions.
• HQ- Gurugram
• It was conceptualized on the sidelines of the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Paris in 2015.
• At present, 116 countries are signatories to the ISA Framework Agreement, of which 94 countries have submitted the necessary instruments of ratification to become full members of the ISA.
• All member states of the United Nations are now eligible to join the ISA.
• The ISA is guided by its ‘Towards 1000’ strategy which aims to mobilise USD 1,000 billion of investments in solar energy solutions by 2030, while delivering energy access to 1,000 million people using clean energy solutions and resulting in installation of 1,000 GW of solar energy capacity.
  • This would help mitigate global solar emissions to the tune of 1,000 million tonnes of CO2 every year.
• Currently, the ISA has 9 comprehensive programmes, each focusing on a distinct application that could help scale deployment of solar energy solutions.
• Activities under the programmes focuses on 3 priority areas – Analytics & Advocacy, Capacity Building, and Programmatic Support