“The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is a trillion dollar opportunity to serve humanity and those in the dark,” said Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) of Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy in New York . The Minister was speaking at the Roundtable on International Solar Alliance -the Trillion Dollar Opportunity- organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Terrawatt Initiative (TWI) under the aegis of the International Solar Alliance
“India has launched this initiative as an obligation towards the larger humanity as an article of faith, ” said Shri Goyal. He further added that for India, this is not being dictated by external exigencies. He called upon stakeholders beyond governments to make this initiative a success.
The ISA which comprises 121 countries that lie partially or fully between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn is intended to create a platform for larger collaboration for technology, research and development and capacity building. “This is about improving the quality of life of large number of people who are still grappling with problems of energy and accessibility at affordable prices,” the Minister said.
The Global Solar Council also committed to creating 25 million jobs in the solar space among the ISA countries. Similar commitments of dedicating a part of their funding portfolio to renewables was given by GIIC, a federation of pension funds.
Speaking earlier at the session, Mr Sumant Sinha, Chairman, CII Special Task Force on Solar said, “The efforts of the governments in the ISA countries will have to matched with efforts by the business community through collaborative efforts.”
Ms Isabelle Kocher, Chairperson, TWI, delivered the welcome address and urged stakeholders to work towards making solar accessible through technology and cheap sustainable finance.