The world’s smallest republic, the tiny island nation of Nauru — has become the sixth country to ratify the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Framework pact initiated by the Indian and French Governments at the climate change summit held at Paris in 2015.
Five more African nations — Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire, Somalia, Ghana and Djibouti — have committed to sign the pact during the ongoing meeting of the African Development bank in India.
Climate change
Nauru, which has a population of just 10,200-odd, is particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, said the country’s Commerce, Industry and Environment Minister Aaron Cook before handing over the ratification document to Union Finance, Defence and Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday afternoon.
“Nauru has a hot and humid climate due to its proximity to the equator… We are fortunate that we don’t normally experience cyclones,” Mr.Cook said, adding that 30% of the country’s needs are currently met through solar power installations and it had set a target to attain 50% of energy production from renewable sources by 2020.
The motivating factor behind the International Solar Alliance, Mr.Jaitley said, is the need for continents like Asia and Africa to protect the environment while generating energy for development goals.
“With today’s signing up by five African countries, we will reach around 31 countries of which six have already ratified the pact,” said Mr. Jaitley. “This is an important alliance for the future and what we are doing today is not just an agreement, but a new chapter in the future economic history of the world,” he said.
Headquartered in India, the alliance, conceived as a coalition of solar resource-rich countries to collaborate on meeting their energy needs through a common, agreed approach, will become a legal entity once at least 15 countries ratify and deposit the framework agreement.
India has earmarked about $2 billion to finance solar projects in Africa out of it commitment to provide $10 billion of concessional lines of credit for projects in the continent.
