Union Cabinet approves opening up of International Solar Alliance membership to all UN countries

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given ex-post facto approval for opening up International Solar Alliance (ISA) membership to all countries that are members of the United Nations. In this regard, Cabinet has approved to move Resolution in first Assembly of ISA for amending the Framework Agreement of ISA.

Significance

It will put solar energy in global agenda with universal appeal for developing and deploying solar energy. It will make ISA inclusive, whereby all member countries of UN could become member. Thus, expanding membership will lead to ISA initiative benefitting the world at large.

International Solar Alliance (ISA)

ISA is an alliance dedicated to the promotion of solar energy among its member countries. The ISA Framework Agreement had entered into force in December 2017 and formally became de-jure treaty based International Intergovernmental Organization. It is headquartered at Gurugram, India. The main objective of ISA is to include global deployment of over 1,000GW of solar generation capacity and mobilisation of investment of over US$ 1000 billion into solar energy by 2030. ISA also aims to serve as an action-oriented organization by bringing together countries with rich solar potential to aggregate global demand, thereby reducing prices through bulk purchase. It also seeks to facilitate deployment of existing solar technologies at scale, and promoting collaborative solar R&D and capacity building.

Month: Current Affairs - November, 2018