Framework agreement of International Solar Alliance signed by 20 nations

The framework agreement of International Solar Alliance (ISA) was opened for signatures on November 15, 2016, at the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP 22) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), at Marrakech, in Morocco.

• Over 20 countries became the signatories to it soon after the process started, including India, France and Brazil.The signing of the framework agreement required official authorization by countries.  The agreement required at-least 15 countries to ratify it to become operational.
• The Framework Agreement will be kept open as many more countries are expected to join the ISA in the coming weeks.

International Solar Alliance(ISA)

ISA was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi jointly with French President Francois Hollande at CoP21 in Paris in November 2015.

• It is India’s first international and inter-governmental organization comprising 121 solar resource-rich tropical countries lying fully or partially between two tropics and who are also the members of UN.
• The ISA institutional structure will consists of an Assembly, a Council and a Secretariat. The secretariat of the ISA is to be located in India.
• Its members will take coordinated actions through programmes and activities that will aggregate demands for solar finance, solar technologies, innovation, R&D and capacity building.

Why is ISA formed?

Nearly 120 countries are geographically located in the tropics i.e. between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, either fully or partially.

• These places get ample sunlight throughout the year, which makes solar energy an easily available resource in these places.
• As a result these countries may become one of those countries where maximum growth in energy is possible, but unfortunately their current production is short as per requirement.
• Thus, the ISA will ensure that as these countries rapidly increase their electricity production, primarily by using clean solar energy and avoid fossil fuels.
• It is also an attempt to increase the global demand for solar energy.

Benefits of ISA

ISA will enable to meet the global demands of energy which will result in further reduction in prices of solar energy deployment.

• Boost R&D, particularly in areas of efficient storage systems.
• Promote standardisation in the use of equipments and processes for generating electricity.
• Standardisation will make the manufacturing of equipments and other hardware cheaper.