United States of America (USA) became the 101st member country to join International Solar Alliance (ISA).

Key Points
The USA has joined ISA as member country with a view to accelerating the global adoption of solar energy.

The decision of the US to join ISA was announced by John Kerry, the US special presidential envoy for climate at the ongoing COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference at Glasgow.

Key Facts
• This announcement was made at UNFCCC COP26 on November 10, 2021.
• Now, USA will catalyse global energy transition through solar-led approach.

International Solar Alliance (ISA) Framework
The ISA framework was first circulated in 2016 for the support of countries. It emphasises on delivering global relevance and local benefit through collaborations for all countries. Key interventions of ISA will focus on readiness and enabling activities, innovative financing instrument and risk mitigation in order to facilitate promotion and deployment of solar technologies.

International Solar Alliance (ISA)
ISA is an alliance of 124 countries. It was initiated by India. Most of the member countries are sunshine countries, lying either partly or completely between Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn. This alliance was launched with the objective of working for efficient consumption of solar energy and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. It was first proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2015. It is a treaty-based inter-governmental organization. It is the largest grouping of states across the world.

Who can join the alliance?
Countries that do not lie within the Tropics can also join ISA and enjoy all benefits as other members. However, they do not get voting rights.

Headquarter of ISA
ISA is headquartered in Gurugram, India. Its foundation stone was laid by Narendra Modi, and French President Francois Hollande in 2016.