Solar energy is at the heart of the urgent climate action, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry noted at the Fourth General Assembly of the International Solar Alliance.
Union minister R K Singh on Wednesday said the world should come together to promote the International Solar Alliance (ISA), which has the potential to provide energy to 800 million people globally. “Solving the problem of energy access is more important than the energy transition. The energy transition is meaningless for those without energy.
“Today, there are 800 million people who lack energy access, worldwide. It is incumbent upon the developed nations to ensure this access. Without their support, development will inevitably be through fossil fuels,” Singh said while addressing the ISA general assembly.
The Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister called upon the world to work together and enable ISA to make energy available to all using solar and renewable energy.
He pointed out that ISA was founded to bring the global community together, “synergize our efforts, leverage our complementarities to overcome such barriers”.
He said ISA can play the primary role in providing energy access to all. In his opening address at the inaugural ceremony of the ISA general assembly where 106 countries are participating in the discussions, Singh said adoption of renewable energy has gained significant momentum since the turn of the past decade.
Solar energy, in particular, is now the most viable option to achieve universal access to sustainable energy due to its affordability and amenability to off-grid solutions. “It is the most viable option for us to rapidly de-carbonize our energy sectors,” he added.
India has made rapid strides in the solar energy sector over the past few years and rapid capacity addition is a testament to India’s commitment to clean and affordable solar energy.
“India has target to reach 450 GW of RE by 2030. We have 154 GW of installed non fossil generation capacity and another 67 GW under construction. India’s nonfossil fuel based capacity is on-track to surpass the 40 per cent target under India’s NDC (nationally-determined contribution),” he said.
Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change, United States, John Kerry applauded ISA and the leadership of India, France and member countries of the ISA assembly in their collaboration to advance the global clean energy transition, He said,”It is really terrific to see India leading the ISA. India is a close partner and the US strongly supports India’s goal of reaching 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030. We believe that it’s absolutely doable and will be done. India has already set an example for emerging economies by reaching 100GW of renewables.”
What India has demonstrated with its low-cost solar auctions and build out of the transmission grids and massive solar parts program and other innovative policy tools can be replicated all over the world, Kerry said.
He added 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.
Speaking on India-US ties and calling India, “a red-hot investment destination for solar power,” Kerry shared that, leading countries deploying solar power from India to the US are seeing the need for energy storage to balance the intermittency of renewable energy.
Harnessing the full value of solar energy will require countries to invest in storage, grid infrastructure and in flexibility in both demand and supply. And to connect solar power with parts of the economy that don’t currently use electricity, countries must invest in electric vehicles and clean fuels like hydrogen that can be produced using solar power, he added.
European Commission Executive-Vice President for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans participated in the opening session of the ISA general assembly and confirmed the European Union’s support to the initiative.
He also announced the imminent launch of a project, worth around 1 million euros, funded by the European Union, aiming at further strengthening the engagement of
EU, EU Member States, & EU academic, business and financial communities with the International Solar Alliance.
Source : PTI
