The UN General Assembly has conferred Observer Status to the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

Significance of  ‘Observer’ Status

• Observer status is a privilege granted by some organizations to non-members to give them the ability to participate in the organization’s activities.
• It is often granted by intergovernmental organizations (IGO) to non-member parties and international nongovernmental organizations (INGO) that have an interest in the IGO’s activities.
• Observers generally have a limited ability to participate in the IGO, lacking the ability to vote or propose resolutions.

About International Solar Alliance (ISA)

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• The ISA is an alliance of more than 121 countries, most of them being sunshine countries, which lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
• The primary objective of the alliance is to work for efficient exploitation of solar energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
• The alliance is a treaty-based inter-governmental organization.
• The initiative was launched by PM Modi at the India Africa Summit and a meeting of member countries ahead of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in November 2015.
• A total of 80 countries have signed and ratified the ISA Framework Agreement and 101 countries have only signed the agreement.

Objectives of the ISA

• To mobilize investments of more than USD 1000 billion by 2030
• To take coordinated action for better harmonization, aggregation of demand, risk and resources, for promoting solar finance, solar technologies, innovation, R&D, capacity building etc.
• Reduce the cost of finance to increase investments in solar energy in member countries
• Scale up applications of solar technologies in member countries
• Facilitate collaborative research and development (R&D) activities in solar energy technologies among member countries
• Promote a common cyber platform for networking, cooperation and exchange of ideas among member countries

What does ISA formation signify?

• Climate action commitment: It symbolizes about the sincerity of the developing nations towards their concern about climate change and to switch to a low-carbon growth path.
• Clean energy: India’s pledge to the Paris summit offered to bring 40% of its electricity generation capacity from non-fossil sources (renewable, large hydro, and nuclear) by 2030.
• Global electrification: India has pledged to let solar energy reach to the most unconnected villages and communities and also towards creating a clean planet.
• Global cooperation: It is based on world cooperation irrespective of global boundaries.
• India’s Soft power: For India, possible additional benefits from the alliance can be a strengthening of ties with the major African countries and increasing goodwill for India among them.

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