India and France have been elected President and co-president of the International Solar Alliance for two years, from 2024 to 2026.
While India was the sole contender for the post of President, the Co-Presidency was contested between France and Grenada, with France emerging victorious.
The Seventh Session of the ISA Assembly is in progress at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Monday, and ministers from 29 countries grace it.
Pralhad Joshi, President of the International Solar Alliance and Union Minister said India’s election to the President’s post is a testament to the substantial and impactful work the country has been doing over the years for the global good in advancing solar energy adoption across the globe and boosting investment in essential solar projects under the Modi government.
“India and France, along with member countries, will aim to raise our ambitions and promise to make this decade count as we usher in a fresh wave of energy, determined to bring the power of solar to improve counties around the world in a way the world has never witnessed before,” said the President and the Union Minister.
Today, eight Vice Presidents of the Standing Committee, two from each of the four ISA geographical regions, were also selected by the Assembly. From the Africa Region, Ghana and Seychelles have been selected as the Vice Presidents, while South Sudan and Comoros will support the Vice Presidents as Vice-Chairs of the Regional Committee of Africa.
From the Asia and the Pacific Region, Australia and Sri Lanka have been selected as the Vice Presidents, with United Arab Emirates and Papua New Guinea as the Vice-Chairs.
Germany and Italy have been selected as the Vice Presidents from Europe and Others Region, along with Greece and Norway as Vice-Chairs.
Leading the Regional Committee of the Latin America and Caribbean region will be Grenada and Suriname, along with Jamaica and Haiti as Vice-Chairs.
ISA Member Countries have also selected the third Director General of the Alliance. Ashish Khanna is the Director General-Designate and will assume office in March 2025 when the tenure of the incumbent Director General Ajay Mathur, comes to a close.
International Solar Alliance (ISA), an international intergovernmental organization, is aimed at mobilizing more than USD 1000 billion of investment needed by 2030 for the massive deployment of solar energy.
Established by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of France Francois Hollande on November 30, 2015, ISA’s objective is to scale up solar energy, reduce the cost of solar power generation through aggregation of demand for solar finance, technologies, innovation, research and development, and capacity building.
The entire world meets a sizable portion of its energy needs through fossil fuels, and various renewable energy sources, including solar, are seen as an avenue to reduce the dependence on conventional sources of power. Green energy for climate mitigation is not just a focus area for India, but globally it has gained momentum.
At COP26 held in 2021, India committed to an ambitious five-part “Panchamrit” pledge. They included reaching 500 GW of non-fossil electricity capacity, generating half of all energy requirements from renewables, and reducing emissions by 1 billion tonnes by 2030. India as a whole also aims to reduce the emissions intensity of GDP by 45 per cent. Finally, India commits to net-zero emissions by 2070.
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