New Delhi [India]: On the first day of his visit to India, European Commission Executive-Vice President for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans said that he is hugely impressed by India’s renewable energy commitment. “I am really, hugely impressed by India’s commitment to have 450 gigawatts of renewable energy production by 2030. That is, and I can tell you, and I’m travelling around the world right now, this has really focused the minds of people around the world as an ambition to aspire for, or at least to be inspired by. And I really will hope that we can be part of that because, to make it succeed we will need massive investment, not just public also private,” Timmermans said. “I think many European nations in the EU want to be part of that development. We will also need technology transfers, and sharing of technology, and jointly developing of technology, and I believe that the International Solar Alliance (ISA) can play a pivotal role in all of this,” he said. He participated in the opening session of the International Solar Alliance Assembly and confirmed the EU support of the initiative and also announced the imminent launch of a project, worth around 1 million Euro, funded by the EU, aiming at further strengthening the engagement of the EU, EU Member States, and EU academic, business and financial communities with the International Solar Alliance. “I am happy to announce that there is a 1 million euro support program that we are launching, that will allow the deepening of the cooperation between the European Union and the International Solar Alliance, including by connecting and mobilizing our academic, financial and business communities so that everybody puts their weight behind this development. I think this is opportunity humanity cannot afford to disregard. In addition, by this we can support the Alliance’s Secretariat, to develop capacity-building activities for its member countries under the Star-C program. Through our engagement with the International Solar Alliance we want to also demonstrate our engagement to emerging and developing economies,” said EU commissioner on climate action. “We share this common objective at the European Union. And we have to because we are now legally obliged to become climate neutral by 2050 and to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030, which is only, you know, slightly over eight years from now. A huge, huge challenge,” added Timmermans. “The project will help to develop synergies between the EU and ISA projects and programmes, enhance the 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,” said the EU Climate envoy. 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.” Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General, International Solar Alliance (ISA), marked the occasion by stating, “The solar power landscape is evolving every day 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 the 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.
