The International Solar Alliance (ISA) took another step closer to becoming a recognised inter-governmental body under the United Nations charter, after Seychelles became the ninth member to ratify the ISA Framework Agreement, an official at the interim ISA Secretariat told BusinessLine.

With this, the ISA will need the ratification of just six more countries to become a recognised inter-governmental body. Till now India, France, Nauru, Niger, Fiji, Mauritius, Tuvalu and Bangladesh have ratified the ISA Framework Agreement.

The ISA aims to get at least six more countries on board before October-end.

Last month, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Coal, Power, New and Renewable Energy and Mines Piyush Goyal had said: “Before the end of this calendar year, we will see the ISA as a multilateral agency, ratified by the first 15 countries who would then be founding members.”

$300-billion funding

Once recognised, the ISA can embark on its task to channelise $300 billion in 10 years to promote renewable energy projects under a global mega fund for clean energy.

The ISA was instituted to connect 121 solar-resource-rich nations for research, low-cost financing and rapid deployment of clean energy. These countries lie within the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

The list of signatory countries to the ISA Framework Agreement is growing, too. On August 30, Costa Rica became the 39th signatory to the list that already has Australia, Brazil, Cambodia and Peru.

Benin, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Dominican Republic and Ethiopia are also signatories to the agreement. It is expected that these countries will eventually ratify the ISA Framework Agreement.

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