Suriname can tap into ISA fund
On Sunday, March 11, the heads of around 40 countries landed in India for the first official summit of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), a non-profit treatybased group of 121 countries promoting the use of solar energy. They put their heads together to discuss the ISA’s goal of making solar power, technology, and financing more accessible to different countries, an idea that Indian prime minister Narendra Modi first presented at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in November 2015. Launched officially in December 2017, the ISA is a treaty-based organisation bringing together resourcerich countries on one platform. The International Solar Alliance (ISA) founding ceremony was held in New Delhi over the weekend, spearheaded by Indian PM Narendra Modi and French president Emmanuel Macron, with multiple development banks signing significant partnership agreements. The ISA aims to create 1,000 gigawatts (GW, or 1,000 MW) of solar power capacity by 2030, and mobilise $1 trillion for this. As part of this, 121 different projects will be signed during the Indian government’s flagship renewable energy event, reinvest, set for April, said Upendra Tripathy, ISA’s interim director general. It will also work on training people in renewable energy-related skills and create a network of resources. Reports indicate that Suriname’s VP, Ashwin Adhin, attended the ISA summit and that Suriname is one of the selected countries that can tap into the ISA fund. Most of the money will benefit developing countries in Asia and Africa. Suriname will invest the money in solar panels for street lights. PM Modi is expected to visit Suriname later this year to discuss the solar energy project with President Desi Bouterse. PM Modi has reportedly held bilateral talks with VP Adhin and Guyanese president, David Granger. The government of France will be committing €700 million in investment to the International Solar Alliance (ISA), the country’s president Emmanuel Macron has revealed. The ISA has gathered 60 signatories, 30 of whom have ratified the agreement.