ISA Could Be Welcoming the US As Member Soon

Reports quoting news agency IANS have claimed that the US is likely to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) at some stage soon.

For the ISA, the move, if it happens, will be more than welcome, as the organisation pushes to meet its core objectives of using a solar fuelled energy transition to mitigate emissions as well as help provide the financing needed by the developing world to get there.

Founded jointly by India and France in 2015, the International Solar Alliance (ISA) has received tremendous backing by India, where its also headquartered, thanks to the personal interest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. For Modi, the ISA has been culmination of a huge switch to solar that remains one of the brightest achievement of his government, since the NDA alliance that he heads first took charge in 2014.

It currently has 124 member countries

The news comes even as the India and the US have jointly launched the Climate Action and Finance Mobilisation Dialogue (CAFMD) on September 14. Before that, John Kerry, the special Presidential envoy for Climate has also spent time in India, meeting top government ministers to find more common purpose with the Indian side.

Kerry has praised India for its significant achievements in adding renewable energy capacity, while making it clear that discussions on ‘net zero’ have not been part of the agenda so far. That remains a touchy topic for India, which firmly believes that ‘talk’ needs to be preceded by ‘real action’ or ‘deeds’, as Bhupender Yadav, Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change has stressed in his most recent utterances. India has regularly stressed on the need for the developed world to deliver on its promise to provide aid and financing for the energy transition, instead of changing the goalposts for the developing world.

Honoured to be part of the team that has jointly undertaken the step. Thank you @ClimateEnvoy for your efforts which made it possible to launch the initiative. I look forward to deepening our collaboration in the area. https://t.co/c2PXuEICxJ

— Bhupender Yadav (@byadavbjp) September 13, 2021

the US joining the ISA would also make sense considering the new focus the current administration of President Joe Biden has declared, on a stronger domestic manufacturing capability. That is a blow to China, which hitherto had a free run in global markets for its solar equipment.  Notably, China is not a member of the ISA, in keeping with its unwritten dictum of joining up only those multilateral organisations it can dominate or bend to its will now.