India hosted the sixth assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Indian Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy Raj Kumar Singh inaugurated the meet as the president of the ISA Assembly.
Ministers from 20 countries and delegates from across 116 member and signatory countries participated in the assembly.
Minister Singh said renewable energy sources have the potential to supply 65% of the world's total electricity by 2030 and decarbonize 90% of the power sector by 2050.
“The International Solar Alliance is steadfast in its commitment to member countries to make solar as the energy source of choice, foster environments conducive to attracting investments and ensuring ample energy availability to meet the surging global demands.”
He inaugurated four projects set up with ISA’s assistance.
Those include: solarization of the parliament building of Malawi, the solarization of two rural health care centres in Fiji, Installation of one solar powered cold storage of capacity five tons for the benefit of its agricultural stakeholders at La Digue Island, Seychelles, and solarisation of the Nawai Junior Secondary school (JSS) in Kiribati.
Co-President Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, France's Minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships, said the ISA is a key initiative to promote the development of clean energy and thus combat climate disruptions for France.
Through the French Development Agency (AFD), France financed over 1.5 billion euros worth of solar projects since 2016.
“France is taking action and we are determined to accelerate”, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou said.
Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General of International Solar Alliance, said: “We urgently need to accelerate the build-up of solar energy, especially in developing countries and in applications that influence the daily lives of those without access to reliable energy – such as getting electricity from solar mini-grids, powering agricultural pumps, running cold storages, etc. Capacity building and regulatory change are necessary enablers towards that.”
“ISA is facilitating over 9.5 GW (gigawatts) of solar applications in 55 developing countries, including LDCs and SIDS, and has already provided training to nearly 4000 people across the developing world on ways to make a living out of supporting solar energy.”
The assembly is the apex decision-making body of ISA.
This body makes decisions concerning the implementation of the ISA’s Framework Agreement and coordinated actions to be taken to achieve its objective.
The assembly meets annually at the ministerial level at the ISA’s seat.
It assesses the aggregate effect of the programs and other activities in terms of deployment of solar energy, performance, reliability, cost, and scale of finance.
The Sixth Assembly of the ISA is deliberating on the key initiatives of ISA on three critical issues: energy access, energy security, and energy transition.
