The International Solar Alliance will raise the issue of climate finance for energy transition and energy access in developing countries at the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt between November 6 and 18, ISA co-President and Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy RK Singh said.
The International Solar Alliance will raise the issue of climate finance for energy transition and energy access in developing countries at the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt between November 6 and 18, ISA co-President and Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy RK Singh said. ISA, a global partnership for increased deployment of solar energy technologies as a means for providing energy access and ensuring energy security was launched by India and France in 2015 during COP 21, has 110 member countries .
On Tuesday, the first day of the body’s two-day general assembly being held in Delhi, Singh said there can be no energy transition without finance from developed countries. “At COP 27 we will focus on energy transition through solar. We will urge all the countries specially the developed countries to contribute as per the pledges they have made which will help in energy transition.”
He added that the money is needed for more than just capital investment. “Capital investment will come but what will be necessary is to put in place is funds for insurance and payment security. So, ISA will be floating two funds, one for payment security which is a must for generating private investments in our projects. The second is a fund for project insurance. As far as knowledge and consultancy is concerned, ISA is already providing that.”
Singh made it clear that there could be no energy transition if the funds do not come. 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.
Co-President of the Assembly, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, France’s Minister of State for Development said in a statement: “The International Solar Alliance, co-chaired by France and India, has grown into a global provider of tangible solutions to enable universal access to affordable solar power. It is the kind of initiative that reconciles economic development with climate goals. As we move towards COP27, the International Solar Alliance is playing a key role to build a broad coalition in favour of ambitious climate commitments. It can count on France’s full support.”
Singh said India can provide technical knowledge on solar projects because it is among countries with a lot of experience in solar. “We in India have 60 GW of solar energy capacity. Another 55 GW is under installation. We will be a critical part of taking the energy transition journey forward.
Jean Fanfan Jourdan, minister representing Haiti shared during the assembly that due to the ongoing fuel and security crisis in Haiti children haven’t attended school since January. “The ISA project of streetlights in Haiti is helping our kids,” he said.
During the assembly, small island nations sought ISA’s help in creating solar floating projects . “We have something similar in India on freshwater but not on saltwater. It can be done but needs to be studied,” Singh said.
ISA’s work is focused around three key strategic priority areas: Analytics and Advocacy, Capacity Building, and Programme Implementation. The focus of ISA’s programmes is to set up solar projects in countries most impacted by climate change, specifically in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). India has released $ 27 million to the ISA and is extending further financial support. Other countries that have made financial contributions to ISA include France, UK, USA, Sweden, Japan, Australia, European Commission .
Source : PTI
