New Delhi, October 20: On the first day of his visit to India, European Commission Executive-Vice President for the European Green Deal Mr Frans Timmermans participated in the opening session of the International Solar Alliance Assembly and confirmed the EU support to the initiative.

The EVP also announced the imminent launch of a project, worth around 1 million Euro, funded by the EU, aiming at further strengthening the engagement of EU, EU Member States, and EU academic, business and financial communities with the International Solar Alliance. 

The project will help to develop synergies between the EU and ISA projects and programmes, enhance transfer of knowledge, support research and innovation and strengthen capacity-building initiatives. The project will further facilitate sharing of knowledge on solar energy technologies, models, policies and practices. 

Highlighting the important milestones achieved by the ISA since its launch in Paris in 2015,  Frans Timmermans, said “With today's announcement, the EU will work more closely with ISA, for the promotion of solar projects all over the world, so that we can jointly scale up technological solutions that can help reach climate neutrality by 2050.” “Developing renewable energy will be the engine for our global recovery from the COVID crisis and to keep energy prices in check. It is fast becoming the most cost-effective option to generate electricity and address the needs of a rapidly growing population. Clean and efficient energy investments create new markets, offer new business opportunities and provide good numbers of local skilled jobs. It is more than climate action. Today it is simply smart business,” he added

Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General, International Solar Alliance (ISA), marked the occasion by stating, “The solar power landscape is evolving everyday with new technologies, investment sources and ever lower tariffs being discovered across the globe. At ISA, we are making significant efforts to accelerate solar power deployment in every corner of the world and mobilising USD 1 trillion in solar investments. Over the years, we have forged strategic alliances and our partnership with European Union is towards creating a multiplier impact. We endeavour to work together with the EU in making solar accessible, and equitable and help in combating the climate crisis”.  

The project would also build synergies with other EU funded projects that are ongoing in India including EU-India Technical Cooperation project-Energy, Support to India-EU Clean Energy and Climate Partnership (CECP), Strategic Partnership on Implementation of Paris Agreement (SPIPA), Business support to EU-India Policy Dialogues and Technical Assistance to the Resource Efficiency Initiative

The newly launched project will engage with relevant stakeholders from the financial and technology sectors in the EU Member States and ISA member countries. 

The EU Cooperation with International Solar Alliance project builds on an earlier EU-funded project, “Infopedia”, which focused on setting up an online knowledge-sharing platform to promote access to solar power among ISA member countries from April 2018 to April 2020.

EU-ISA

With the signature of a joint declaration for cooperation on 11 December 2018, the European Union is a partner organisation to the ISA. The EU supports ISA with concrete actions, such as the development of the ISA’s collaborative and knowledge platform, which was launched at ISA’s General Assembly 2019, and the ISA Infopedia and solar academy. The ISA has membership of 86 countries globally. More and more EU Member States are joining the ISA. 

The EU Green Deal

The EU aims to be climate-neutral by 2050 – an economy with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. This objective is at the heart of the European Green Deal and in line with the EU’s commitment to global climate action under the Paris Agreement. 

 About The International Solar Alliance 

The ISA is an inter-governmental treaty-based international organization with a global mandate to catalyse global solar growth by helping to reduce the cost of financing and technology for solar. In fulfilling this mandate, the ISA is committed to establishing solar as a shared solution that simultaneously addresses climate, energy, and economic priorities across geographies, facilitating Energy Transition at a global level, Energy Security at national levels, while also ensuring Energy Access at the local level. The ISA is helping large nations scale global commitments, thereby serving the planet’s needs for reduced carbon emissions, while also helping economically more vulnerable nations establish a self-sustaining energy alternative that reduces trade dependency and drives job creation. Universal, affordable, and reliable last- mile electricity connectivity across socio-economic strata is a crucial pillar and targeted, tangible outcome of these combined efforts towards facilitating economic development and environmental impact.

European Commission Executive-Vice President for the European Green Deal Mr Frans Timmermans speech at the opening session of the International Solar Alliance Assembly: