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

international solar alliance (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.

Area of the earth between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn is called the torrid zone.

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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.

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.

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

  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

To know more please refer – isolaralliance.org 

International Solar Alliance FAQs

Where is the headquarter of the International Solar Alliance?

The international solar alliance HQ is in Gurugram, ‎Haryana‎, ‎India. The ISA headquarter is also known as International Solar Alliance Secretariat.

How many countries have signed the International Solar Alliance agreement?

At the latest, 108 countries have signed the ISA Framework Agreement.

How many countries are members of ISA?

At the latest, 88 countries have signed and ratified the ISA Framework Agreement to become ISA member countries.

Where can I check recruitment or job opportunities at ISA?

You can go to https://isolaralliance.org/careersatisa/ in order to check for the latest vacancies at International Solar Alliance.

Which two countries have paved the way for the ISA formation?

India and France jointly gave the idea of ISA which aims to mobilize efforts towards fighting climate change through solar energy deployment.

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