About ISA

• International Solar Alliance (ISA) was launched in 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former President of France Francois Hollande at the 21st session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP-21) in Paris, France.
• The Paris Declaration that established the ISA states that the countries share the collective ambition to undertake innovative and concerted efforts to reduce the cost of finance and technology for deployment of solar generation assets.
• ISA was conceived as a coalition of solar-resource-rich countries (which lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn) to address their special energy needs.
• The first general assembly of the ISA, held in 2018, adopted the amendment to its framework agreement to expand the scope of membership to all member states of the United Nations.
• As guided by the Framework Agreement of the ISA, the interests and objectives of the ISA are as follows:
  • To collectively address key common challenges to scale up solar energy applications in line with their needs;
  • To mobilize investments of more than USD 1000 billion by 2030; 
  • To take coordinated action through programmes and activities launched on a voluntary basis, aimed at better harmonization, aggregation of demand, risk and resources, for promoting solar finance, solar technologies, innovation, R&D, capacity building etc.;
  • Reduce the cost of finance to increase investments in solar energy in member countries by promoting innovative financial mechanisms and mobilizing finance from Institutions;
  • Facilitate collaborative research and development (R&D) activities in solar energy technologies among member countries.

• The ISA is headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana.

Why in News?

• The Fifth Assembly of the International Solar Alliance was inaugurated recently.

Reference:

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1868849