Sixth Assembly of International Solar Alliance to begin on October 30 in New Delhi

New Delhi [India], October 18 (ANI): The Sixth Assembly of the International Solar Alliance will be held in New Delhi from October 30 to November 2, 2023, a government release said on Wednesday.
The Assembly will be presided over by the President, ISA Assembly and Union Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy RK Singh.
According to the release, ministers, missions and delegates from 116 Member and Signatory Countries of the ISA will participate, along with delegates from prospective countries, partner organizations, private sector and other stakeholders.
The ISA was launched jointly by India and France after COP21 in Paris.
The sixth assembly of the ISA will deliberate on ISA initiatives that impact energy access, energy security and energy transitions, with a focus on universalisation of energy access through solar mini-grids, mobilising finance for accelerated solar deployment and diversifying supply chains and manufacturing for solar.
The Union Minister for Power, New and Renewable Energy in his capacity as President of ISA interacted with Embassy officials of the countries participating in the forthcoming sixth Assembly meeting.
Speaking at a curtain raiser press conference in New Delhi today, RK Singh said that the International Solar Alliance has a seminal role to play in energy transition given its focus on solar energy.
"Our experience shows that among renewable sources, solar has the edge; it is much more dependable, reliable and available for more months of the year," the Minister added.
The Minister said that solar energy is also capable of being deployed in small sizes which makes it the best suited for ensuring energy access.
"When we launched our campaign for universal access to energy, solar played a major role. It is using solar that we lighted many homes in the hills and in the deserts. It has ability to be deployed for specific villages in mini-grids. For universal access, solar is the solution. That is what makes ISA important," the Minister said.
Singh said that the salience of ISA lies also in the energy transition for the South.
"The challenge lies in providing energy to the 750 million people who do not have access to energy. The conscience of the world needs to be stirred. Even in the past 5 - 6 years of existence of ISA, we don't see countries which are capable of helping coming forward to help these 750 million people. It is our mission in ISA to bring together to help these 750 million people. That is how we define our role - to help countries deprived of energy access, get access to energy," he added.
The Minister shared the government's belief that energy access is central to any energy transition.
"We cannot have energy transition without energy access. And access has to be clean access as it should not be at the cost of the planet. That is what ISA has been doing. We advise countries how to do this, how to do electrification using solar, we help them set up regulatory structures, and physical structures such as generation being linked to transmission and distribution. We make experts available and ISA bears the cost," RK Singh said.
The Minister emphasized that the most important contribution of the ISA would be to ensure that investment goes to countries of the South.
Stressing on the effectiveness of ISA as an organization at the global level, RK Singh informed that the ISA has 124 signatories, out of which 94 have ratified and this is much bigger than other energy organizations like IEA.
"ISA is international and intercontinental and it is growing. We believe it has a salient role to play in energy transition," he said.
He also informed that 168 countries have already registered to participate in the sixth ISA Assembly, out of which 20 are Ministers.
"Other organizations such as multilateral development banks and other stakeholders too will participate. We propose to hold the Assembly in Bharat Mandapam which has just hosted the G20," Singh said.
The ISA Secretariat has also planned a high-level conference on New Technologies for Clean Energy Transition in collaboration with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, the Asian Development Bank, and the International Solar Energy Society, on November 1, 2023.
The conference will focus on various issues concerning climate change and solar energy deployment.
ISA will also be releasing three flagship reports providing updates on Solar Technology, Solar Market and Solar Investments.
The ISA Assembly is the apex decision-making body of ISA, in which each Member Country is represented.
This body makes decisions concerning the implementation of the ISA's Framework Agreement and coordinated actions to be taken to achieve its objectives. The Assembly meets annually at the ministerial level at the ISA's seat.
109 countries are signatories to the ISA Framework Agreement, of which 90 countries have submitted the necessary instruments of ratification to become full members of the ISA. The Republic of India holds the office of the President of the ISA Assembly, with the Government of the French Republic as the co-president.
The International Solar Alliance is an international organisation with 109 member countries. It works with governments to improve energy access and security worldwide and promote solar power as a sustainable way to transition to a carbon-neutral future.
ISA member countries are driving change by enacting policies and regulations, sharing best practices, agreeing on common standards, and mobilising investments. (ANI)