US becomes 101st member of International Solar Alliance

New Delhi [India], November 10 : The United States on Wednesday became the 101st member country of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) to catalyze global energy transition through a solar-led approach.
"In a big boost to accelerate global adoption of solar energy, John Kerry, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate announced at the UNFCCC COP26 that the United States of America (USA) has joined the International Solar Alliance (ISA) as a member country," read Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change release.
"We are happy to join the International Solar Alliance, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the lead in making," said Kerry.
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav said, that this move will "strengthen the ISA and propel future action on providing a clean source of energy to the world."
"Happy that now the USA is formally a part of the ISA, a visionary initiative launched by PM Narendra Modi in 2015 at Paris COP. The number of countries who are now part of ISA is now 101", tweeted Yadav.
"Move will strengthen the ISA and propel future action on providing a clean source of energy to the world," added Yadav.
Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General, the ISA said, "The US' endorsement of ISA's framework and approach is a heartening development, especially as our 101st member nation, which is a significant milestone in itself, demonstrating that nations across the world are recognizing the economic and climate mitigating value of solar, as well as this energy source's potential as a catalyst for global energy transition," added the release.
The launch of the ISA was announced by PM Modi and Francois Hollande, former President of France on November 30, 2015, at the 21st session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP-21) in Paris.
Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attended the launch, alongside the Heads of about 120 nations who affirmed their participation in the Alliance to dedicate efforts for the promotion of solar energy.
The framework was first circulated for countries' support in 2016. The framework emphasizes delivering global relevance and local benefit to all countries through collaborations, with ISA's key interventions focusing on readiness & enabling activities, risk mitigation & innovative financing instruments to facilitate the promotion and deployment of solar technologies in target markets, said the release.
The approach and methods detailed in the framework have already delivered results, with ISA building a solar project pipeline of nearly 5 GW installed capacity. The approach detailed in this framework will culminate in a vision for interconnected global grids, which was formalized and jointly launched as the 'Green Grids Initiative - One Sun One World One Grid' (GGI-OSOWOG), during the World Leaders Summit of the COP26 in Glasgow on 2nd November 2021 by the UK Presidency of COP26 and India Presidency of International Solar Alliance (ISA).
Earlier at COP26, the United States also joined the Steering Committee of the GGI-OSOWOG comprising of 5 members - USA, Australia, France, the United Kingdom, and India -- and endorsed the One Sun Declaration along with 80 countries.
United States of America's Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm had said that "the Grid-Sun combination will save the planet. The GGI-OSOWOG is focusing on the two most important pieces of the puzzle. We at the US Department of Energy are happy to be a partner with GGI-OSOWOG."
US endorsement of the ISA framework follows remarks by Kerry at the Fourth General Assembly of ISA in October 2021, where he had said that ISA is critical to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and has an opportunity to accelerate Solar's growth with member countries blessed with the world's strongest sunlight.
Stating that Solar energy is at the heart of the urgent climate action, Kerry urged nations to take dramatic action to keep the 1.5-degree Celsius temperature rise and mid-century net zero emissions targets within reach.
The ISA is an inter-governmental treaty-based international organization with a global mandate to catalyze global solar growth by helping to reduce the cost of financing and technology for solar.