ISA Amends Framework Agreement Allowing UN Member States to Join

UN member states will now be able to join the ISA after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced amendments to the framework agreement.

Uniter Nations (UN) member states will now be able to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced amendments to the ISA’s framework agreement.

For achieving the universalisation of the membership of the ISA beyond the tropics, the first General Assembly of the alliance held on October 3, 2018, had adopted the amendment to the framework agreement on its establishment to expand the scope of membership to all member states of the United Nations.

“After the necessary ratifications/approvals/acceptances were obtained from the requisite number of ISA member countries as mandated by the framework agreement of the ISA, the said amendment has entered into force on July 15, 2020,” the ministry said in a statement.

To date, a total of 87 countries have signed the framework agreement of the ISA, and 67 of them have deposited their instruments of ratification.

“The coming into force of the amendment of the ISA Framework Agreement will now allow all the Member States of the United Nations to join the International Solar Alliance, including those beyond the Tropics,” it said.

The ISA was launched jointly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the President of France Emmanuel Macron during COP21 in Paris in November 2015. It aims to bring together countries to provide a collective response to the main common obstacles to the massive deployment of solar energy in terms of technology, finance and capacity. And contribute to the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement through rapid and massive deployment of solar energy.

Its primary objective is to mobilise member countries, seek commitments from international organisations and mobilise private sector to support rural and decentralised applications, access to affordable finance, island and village solar mini-grids, rooftop installations, and solar e-mobility technologies.

In December 2019, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, while peaking at a ministerial plenary on the sidelines of the 25th session of the Conference of Parties (COP 25) in Madrid, said there was a need to speed up this alliance (ISA) to trap solar energy in a big way. He stressed on his point that more and more countries should join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) to reduce dependence on fossil fuels to meet their growing energy requirements.