What is International Solar Alliance? – All You Need To Know About ISA!

International Solar Alliance is the first international treaty-based inter-governmental organization that enables co-operation among sun-rich countries lying fully or partially between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Most of these countries are geographically located for optimal absorption of the sun’s rays and seek to massively ramp up solar energy, thereby helping to bend the global greenhouse emissions curve whilst providing clean and cheap energy.

The idea was to form a coalition of solar resource-rich countries to collaborate on addressing the identified gaps in their energy requirements through a common approach.

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Foundation of International Solar Alliance

The International Solar Alliance was launched at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, COP-21 on 30 November 2015 by India’s Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, and then President of France Mr. Francois Hollande, in the presence of the then Secretary-General of the United Nations Mr. Ban Ki Moon.

The ISA Framework Agreement was opened for signature during the COP-22 at Marrakesh on 15th November 2016.

The International Solar Alliance was officially established on 6 December 2017, on the entry into force of the Framework Agreement.

The founding conference (first international summit) was held on 11 March 2018 in New Delhi, co-chaired by the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, and the President of France, Mr. Emmanuel Macron.

The First Assembly of the International Solar Alliance was held on 3 October 2018, inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi and the UN Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres.

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Headquarter of International Solar Alliance

The International Solar Alliance headquarters is located at Gwal Pahari, Gurugram, Haryana, India.

According to Article XII of the Framework Agreement, the seat of the ISA shall be in India.

Governance of International Solar Alliance

ISA’s proposed governance structure would consist of an Assembly and a Secretariat.

• According to Article V, a Secretariat is established to assist the parties to the agreement in their collective work under the agreement. The Secretariat comprises of a Director General, who is also the Chief Executive Officer, and other staff as may be required. 
• According to Article IV, an Assembly is established on which each Member is represented, to make decisions concerning the implementation of the agreement and coordinated actions to be taken to achieve its objective. The Assembly meets annually at the Ministerial level at the seat of the ISA. The Assembly may also meet under special circumstances.
• ISA Assembly makes all necessary decisions regarding the functioning of the ISA, including the selection of the Director-General and the approval of the operating budget.
• Each Member of ISA has one vote in the ISA Assembly. Observers and Partner organizations may participate without having the right to vote.

As of now, Dr. Ajay Mathur, is the Director General (DG) of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) on a full time basis. The electeion of DG of ISA holds once in 4 years.

Objectives of the International Solar Alliance

The absence of universal energy access, energy equity, and affordability are concerns common to most solar resource-rich countries. ISA is envisaged as a union of solar countries to address their special energy needs and will provide a platform to collaborate on addressing the identified gaps through a common, agreed approach.

• The alliance’s primary objective is to work for the efficient exploitation of solar energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Thus, helping to combat climate change.
• Another objective is to meet the high energy demand in developing countries.
• Finally, significantly reduces the costs of solar energy.

ISA will not duplicate or replicate the efforts that other international bodies or organizations are currently engaged in, but will establish networks and develop synergies with them and supplement their efforts in a sustainable and focused manner. These include International Renewable Energy Agency, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership, International Energy Agency, Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, UN bodies, bilateral organizations, etc.

Programs under ISA

The ISA identifies five programs.

1. Scaling Solar Applications for Agricultural Use
2. Affordable Finance at Scale
3. Scaling Solar Mini-Grids
4. Scaling Rooftop Solar
5. Scaling Solar E-Mobility & Storage

The ISA Secretariat has also launched a Solar Technology Application and Resource – Centre ( iSTAR-C) to support capacity-building efforts in the ISA member countries. In addition, the ISA is developing a digital INFOPEDIA platform for communication, education, and collaboration, with financial support earmarked by the European Union.

To foster innovation and research in solar technologies, the ISA Solar Award (Kalpana Chawla Solar Award) has been created to recognize solar scientists doing extraordinary work across ISA member countries with a one-time corpus contribution of US$1.5 million from the Government of Haryana.

List of Countries Which Have Signed ISA Framework Agreement

There are 121 prospective member countries of ISA. ‘Prospective Member Countries’ are the countries lying fully or partially between the Tropics of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn and only these countries can join ISA as full-fledged members.

At present 108 countries have signed the International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement. At the latest Panama signed the ISA framework. List of these 108 ISA signed countries is given below –

1. Commonwealth of Australia
2. Peoples Republic of Bangladesh
3. Republic of Benin
4. Federal Republic of Brazil
5. Burkina Faso
6. Kingdom of Cambodia
7. Republic of Chile
8. Republic of Costa Rica
9. Democratic Republic of Congo
10. Union of Comoros
11. Republic of Cote d’ivoire
12. Republic of Cuba
13. Republic of Djibouti
14. Dominican Republic
15. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
16. Republic of Equatorial Guinea
17. Republic of Fiji
18. France
19. Gabonese Republic
20. Republic of Ghana
21. Republic of Guinea
22. Republic of Guinea-Bissau
23. Republic of India
24. Republic of Kiribati
25. Republic of Liberia
26. Republic of Madagascar
27. Republic of Malawi
28. Republic of Mali
29. Republic of Mauritius
30. Republic of Nauru
31. Republic of Niger
32. Federal Republic of Nigeria
33. Republic of Peru
34. Republic of Rwanda
35. Republic of Senegal
36. Republic of Seychelles
37. Federal Republic of Somalia
38. Republic of South Sudan
39. Republic of Sudan
40. United Republic of Tanzania
41. Kingdom of Tonga
42. Togolese Republic
43. Tuvalu
44. United Arab Emirates
45. Republic of Vanuatu
46. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
47. Republic of Chad
48. Republic of Burundi
49. Republic of Guyana
50. Democratic Socialist Republic of Srilanka
51. Republic of Suriname
52. Republic of Uganda
53. Republic of Cape Verde
54. Republic of The Gambia
55. Republic of Mozambique
56. Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe
57. Republic of Yemen
58. Independent State of Papua New Guinea
59. People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria
60. Commonwealth of Dominica
61. Arab Republic of Egypt
62. Republic of Grenada
63. United Kingdom
64. The Netherlands
65. Republic of Namibia
66. Republic of El Salvador
67. Republic of Myanmar
68. Republic of Zimbabwe
69. Republic of Zambia
70. Republic of Cameroon
71. Japan
72. Argentina Republic
73. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
74. Pluri’National State of Bolivia
75. Republic of Maldives
76. Republic of Palau
77. Republic of Haiti
78. Republic of Paraguay
79. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
80. Jamaica
81. Republic of Botswana
82. St. Lucia
83. State of Eritrea
84. Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis
85. Independent State of Samoa
86. Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
87. Sultanate of Oman
88. Republic of Nicaragua
89. Republic of Marshall Islands
90. Barbados
91. Belize
92. Luxembourg
93. Morocco
94. Italy
95. Kingdom of Denmark
96. Germany
97. Greece
98. Sweden
99. Tunisia
100. Israel
101. United States of America
102. Antigua and Barbuda
103. Syria
104. Kingdom of Bahrain
105. Nepal
106. Norway
107. Hungary
108. Panama

International Solar Alliance Members

Let’s now talk about Member Countries of ISA. So far, 88 countries have ratified the ISA Framework Agreement among the 108 countries that have signed the ISA Framework Agreement.

A country is considered a member of ISA after it signs the instrument of ratification, acceptance, and approval.

List of ISA member countries is provided below –

1. Republic of Guinea
2. Commonwealth of Australia
3. Democratic Socialist Republic of Srilanka
4. Peoples Republic of Bangladesh
5. Union of Comoros
6. Republic of Cuba
7. Republic of Fiji
8. France
9. Republic of Ghana
10. Gabonese Republic
11. Republic of India
12. Republic of Malawi
13. Republic of Mali
14. Republic of Mauritius
15. Republic of Madagascar
16. Republic of Nauru
17. Republic of Niger
18. Republic of Peru
19. Republic of Seychelles
20. Federal Republic of Somalia
21. Republic of South Sudan
22. Tuvalu
23. Togolese Republic
24. Republic of Uganda
25. Republic of Guyana
26. Republic of Rwanda
27. Republic of Cote d’ivoire
28. Commonwealth of Dominica
29. Independent State of Papua New Guinea
30. Republic of Sudan
31. United Arab Emirates
32. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
33. Burkina Faso
34. Republic of Grenada
35. Republic of Suriname
36. Republic of Namibia
37. Republic of Chad
38. Republic of Benin
39. Republic of Djibouti
40. Republic of Senegal
41. Kingdom of Tonga
42. Republic of Vanuatu
43. Republic of Myanmar
44. Republic of Kiribati
45. Republic of Cameroon
46. Democratic Republic of Congo
47. Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe
48. Japan
49. Republic of Equatorial Guinea
50. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
51. Republic of Burundi
52. Arab Republic of Egypt
53. United Kingdom
54. The Netherlands
55. Republic of Mozambique
56. Republic of Haiti
57. Republic of Maldives
58. Republic of The Gambia
59. Jamaica
60. Federal Republic of Nigeria
61. St. Lucia
62. Republic of El Salvador
63. United Republic of Tanzania
64. Independent State of Samoa
65. Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
66. Kingdom of Cambodia
67. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
68. People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria
69. Sultanate of Oman
70. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
71. Republic of Marshall Islands
72. Republic of Nicaragua
73. Barbados
74. Argentina Republic
75. Belize
76. Kingdom of Denmark
77. Zimbabwe
78. Sweden
79. Republic of Botswana
80. Germany
81. Italy
82. St. Kitts and Nevis
83. Tunisia
84. Antigua and Barbuda
85. Greece
86. Kingdom of Bahrain
87. Norway
88. Syria

There is no membership fee to join the ISA or to participate as an observer or partner country.

According to Article IX of the Framework Agreement, Observer status that may be granted by the Assembly to applicants for membership or partnership whose application is pending, or to any other organization which can further the interest and objectives of the ISA.

As per Article VII of the Framework Agreement, the Assembly may grant partner country status to those States falling outside the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, are members of the United Nations and are willing and able to contribute to the objectives and activities of the ISA. The proposed amendment to the Framework Agreement will enable all States which are members of the United Nations to become ISA members, and will remove the status of the partner country.

ISA Framework Agreement 

The framework agreement of the International Solar Alliance opened for signatures in Marrakech, Morocco on 15th November 2016.

The framework agreement of the International Solar Alliance consists of a total of 14 Articles.

Key Points

• According to Article II which deals with Guiding Principles, “each Member designates a National Focal Point for the ISA. National Focal Points constitute a permanent network of correspondents of the ISA in Member countries.”
• According to ArticleVIII, United Nations including its organs is the Strategic Partner of the ISA.
• According to Article XI, any member may propose amendments to the Framework Agreement after expiry of one year from the commencement of the Framework Agreement.
• According to Article XIII, once the ISA is established, the International Steering Committee of the ISA ceases to exist.
• According to Article XIV, the Government of the Republic of India is the Depositary of the Framework Agreement.

1. Article I – Objective
2. Article II – Guiding Principles
3. Article III – Programmes and other activities
4. Article IV – Assembly
5. Article V – Secretariat
6. Article VI – Budget and Financial Resources
7. Article VII – Member and Partner Country status
8. Article VIII- Partner Organization
9. Article IX – Observers
10. Article X – Status, privileges and immunities of the ISA
11. Article XI – Amendments and withdrawal
12. Article XII – Seat of the ISA
13. Article XIII- Signature and entry into force
14. Article XIV- Depositary, registration, authentication of the text

ISA SUN-Meet

On every third Wednesday of the month, ISA organizes “ISA SUN-Meet”.

India’s Role in International Solar Alliance

• India is the founding member country of the International Solar Alliance.
• The International Solar Alliance is the first international organization hosted in India (the first international body that will have a secretariat in India), with its headquarters situated in Gurugram, on the outskirts of New Delhi.
• The International Solar Alliance has set a target of 1 TW of solar energy by 2030. India, with a target to produce 100 GW of solar energy by 2022, would account for a tenth of ISA’s goal.
• India will contribute the US $ 27 million to the ISA for creating a corpus, building infrastructure and recurring expenditure over the 5-year duration from 2016-17 to 2020-21. In addition, public sector undertakings of the Government of India namely Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) have made a contribution of US $ 1 million each for creating the ISA corpus fund.

To know more please refer – isolaralliance.org 

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