The International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have signed a joint financial partnership declaration that deepens their cooperation in support of renewable energy.

According to an announcement, the declaration was signed in the presence of Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Arun Jaitley.

The collaboration gives EBRD a chance to support solar energy investments in some of the least developed countries in the world, particularly in Africa. More financial partnerships like this will be signed by ISA in the near future in an effort to achieve its mandate in a proper and effective manner.

ISA is seeking to deploy more than 1,000 GW of solar energy and mobilize more than $1,000 billion into solar energy by 2030. To help bring its plans to fruition, EBRD is keenly interested in increasing its green financing project portfolio to 40 percent of its annual business. ISA aims to pave the way for future technologies that will adapt to the needs of 121 countries that extend into the Tropics. Doing so would create a huge market for EBRD to pump funds into.

Suma Chakrabarti, president of EBRD, indicated that this agreement is very important for EBRD, which has always been eager to share its expertise with and learn from new partners. Chakrabarti added that, like the ISA, EBRD also envisions sustainable green energy development ultimately benefiting the global economy.

Jaitley urged ISA and EBRD to support innovations that would create new and dynamic mechanisms for credit enhancement and risk mitigation in the solar sector.

Recently, the World Bank partnered with the ISA to launch the Global Solar Atlas, a free, web-based tool that helps investors and policymakers identify potential sites for solar power generation virtually anywhere in the world.

Image credit: ISA