New Delhi: The Fifth Assembly of ISA was inaugurated by Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy RK Singh on Tuesday in his capacity as the President of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). The Republic of India holds the office of the President of the ISA Assembly, with the Government of France as Co-President. Ministers from 20 countries and delegates from across 110 Member and Signatory countries and 18 prospective countries joined the inaugural ceremony of the 5th ISA Assembly.
At the occasion of the opening, Singh stated that the past two years have provided us multiple reminders that global dependence on fossil fuels is unhealthy, not just for the environment, but also for the economy. "Oil and gas prices have soared leading to inflationary pressures the world over. The good news is that we already have the tools we need to counter these, and the development in technology is making sure that even more effective resources are made available in the years to come. It is now up to us to decide how quickly we can deploy these. In the pursuit of energy transition, we also have the responsibility of enabling development in the parts of the world that lack access to energy and energy security," said Singh.
The deliberations and discussions among representatives from 110 Member Countries at the Fifth Assembly of ISA are expected to lead to a greater consensus among the comity for promoting the deployment of solar power, said an official statement. On the sidelines of the Fifth ISA Assembly, the International Solar Alliance, in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank and the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, the Government of India will host a High-Level Conference on New Technologies for Clean Energy Transition on October 19 at Hotel Ashok, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.
The Conference will feature plenary and thematic technical sessions. While the plenary will frame key issues around solar energy technologies, investments, and markets, the thematic discussions will help deepen understanding of these themes. Speakers from diverse backgrounds: academia, think tanks, industry, the financial sector, and policymakers will participate and share insights and ideas.
The International Solar Alliance is an international organisation with 110 Member and Signatory countries. It works with governments to improve energy access and security worldwide and promote solar power as a sustainable way to transition to a carbon-neutral future.
"It is our mission that ISA can assist member nations in formulating and implementing solar-ready policies and regulatory development of national energy landscapes and for engaging with public and private sector entities to leverage low-cost financing to achieve ISA's solarisation agenda, said Singh. The ISA is structured as an international resource hub with in-house technical expertise that will be readily accessible by member nations and is capable of guiding project implementation at scale," said the statement.
The Assembly is the apex decision-making body of ISA, in which each Member Country is represented. This body makes decisions concerning the implementation of the ISA's Framework Agreement and coordinated actions to be taken to achieve its objective. The Assembly meets annually at the ministerial level at the ISA's seat.
It assesses the aggregate effect of the programmes and other activities in terms of deployment of solar energy, performance, reliability, cost, and scale of finance. The Fifth Assembly of the ISA will deliberate on the key initiatives of ISA on three critical issues energy access, energy security, and energy transition.
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