Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday welcomed the USA to the International Solar Alliance, an initiative to promote renewable energy, spearheaded by India and France. He also thanked US President Joe Biden for taking the step.
In a reply to tweet by the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Mr John Kerry, the Prime Minister tweeted :
"Wonderful news @ClimateEnvoy! I thank @POTUS and wholeheartedly welcome the USA to the @isolaralliance. This will further strengthen the Alliance in our shared quest of harnessing solar energy for a sustainable planet."
The United States of America has become the 101st member country to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
Signing the framework agreement, Kerry said in the statement, “It has long been coming, and we are happy to join the International Solar Alliance, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the lead in making. We worked out the details and this is a process we are pleased to be a part of.”
He added that this will be an important contribution to the more rapid deployment of solar globally and it will be particularly important for developing countries.
ISA Director-General Ajay Mathur said in the statement: “The US’ endorsement of the ISA’s framework and approach is a heartening development, especially as our 101st member nation, which is a significant milestone in itself.”
It demonstrates that nations across the world are recognising the economic and climate mitigating value of solar, as well as this energy source’s potential as a catalyst for global energy transition, he added.
The framework was first circulated by India and France for the support of other countries in 2016. It emphasises delivering global relevance and local benefit to all countries through collaborations, with the ISA’s key interventions focusing on readiness and enabling activities, risk mitigation and innovative financing instruments to facilitate the promotion and deployment of solar technologies in target markets.
The approach and methods detailed in the framework have already delivered results, with ISA building a solar project pipeline of nearly 5-gigawatt installed capacity. The approach detailed in this framework will culminate in a vision for interconnected global grids, which was formalised and jointly launched as the ‘Green Grids Initiative: One Sun One World One Grid’ during the World Leaders Summit of the COP26 in Glasgow on November 2.
