About ISA

• The International Solar Alliance (ISA) was conceived as a joint effort by India and France to mobilize efforts against climate change through deployment of solar energy solutions. 
• 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.
• The Paris Declaration that established the ISA states that the alliance 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 is headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana.

Membership

• • 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.

• 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.

Objectives

• 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.