Sri Lanka was appointed as the Vice Chair of the Asia Pacific Group of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) at the ISA Regional Consultations held in New Delhi, today. Sri Lanka was also appointed by consensus, as an Additional Member of the Standing Committee representing the Asia Pacific Region as well as an Observer of the Programming Committee of the International Solar Alliance. With these key appointments Sri Lanka is now represented at all significant levels of the International Solar Alliance that will lay the framework for the programming and implementation of the projects that will be initiated by the International Solar Alliance.
The Regional Committees will be responsible and accountable to the Assembly and will provide a forum for regional coordination of views on matters related to the Assembly of the International Solar Alliance. The Regional Committee of the International Solar Alliance will harmonize and aggregate demand for, inter alia, solar finance, solar technologies, innovation, research and development and capacity building.
With the appointment to the Vice Chair of the Asia Pacific Group Sri Lanka will play a key role in the Group in reviewing the scope of solar applications for regional member countries, through analytical mapping of solar applications. The Regional Committee will gather relevant information regarding its needs and objectives; domestic measures and initiatives: its needs and objectives; domestic measures and initiatives taken or intended to be taken in order to achieve these objectives; to identify obstacles along the value chain and dissemination process. The Committee will also ensure maximum scale effect of the programmes, participation of the largest possible number of members including simple, measurable and mobilizing targets giving access to the aggregate effect of the programmes and other activities under the International Solar Alliance. In particular, in terms of deployment of Solar Energy, Performance, Reliability, as well as Cost and Scale of Finance. Moreover, it will identify strategies for mobilization of financial resources for the programme and project related activities with the support and assistance of the Secretariat.
Through these appointments Sri Lanka will further its commitments towards the objectives of the Paris Declaration on the International Solar Alliance of 30th November 2015 which stressed on the shared ambition to undertake joint efforts required to reduce the cost of finance and the cost of technology and to mobilize more than USD $ 1000 billion investments required by 2030 for massive deployment of solar energy and pave the way for future technologies.
Sri Lanka signed the Framework Agreement of the International Solar Alliance on 31st January 2018, and ratified it on 5th February 2018 and became a founding member of the International Solar Alliance.
