The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is a treaty-based intergovernmental organisation launch by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and Former President François Hollande of France. ISA's mission is to provide a dedicated platform for cooperation among solar resource rich countries and the wider global community - including bilateral and multilateral organisations, industry and other stakeholders - to support the increasing use of solar energy. Seventy-three countries have signed and 50 countries have signed and ratified the ISA Framework Agreement.
ISA commits itself to three near-term objectives:
- Develop integrated solar or solar hybrid based cold chain solutions that bring economic value to farmers and producers, and include the post-harvest in-field technologies that can secure an extended shelf-life of perishable items
- Encourage the use of sustainable, low global warming potential solar-based cooling technologies through financing and incentives for small- and medium-sized farms
- Promote applied research and industry engagement to introduce affordable refrigeration solutions for small- and medium-sized producers with special emphasis on post-harvest processing facilities and transportation
