India-Backed International Solar Alliance Takes A Hit As US Pulls Out

(MENAFN- Live Mint) New Delhi: In a setback for the India-backed International Solar Alliance (ISA), the United States has withdrawn its membership from the multilateral body that focuses on accelerating global solar energy adoption. The exit is part of a broader US move to pull out of 65 international organizations that the Trump administration has characterized as "wasteful, ineffective, and harmful".

The withdrawal is significant as ISA is the first multilateral organization promoted by India, with the aim of strengthening the country's position as the voice of the Global South and countering China's geopolitical influence, primarily among African and Latin American nations. India currently holds the presidency of the organization through union minister for new and renewable energy Pralhad Joshi, and France holds the co-presidency.

The US Department of State said, "The Trump administration has found these institutions to be redundant in their scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run, captured by the interests of actors advancing their own agendas contrary to our own, or a threat to our nation's sovereignty, freedoms, and general prosperity."

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Taking to social media platform X, US secretary of state Marco Rubio also described the concerned organizations as "anti-American, useless, or wasteful" and said US membership to other international organizations was under review. "These withdrawals keep a key promise President Trump made to Americans – we will stop subsidizing globalist bureaucrats who act against our interests. The Trump administration will always put America and Americans first," Rubio said.

What does ISA do?

The ISA is a collaborative initiative between India and France, aimed at uniting efforts to combat climate change by implementing solar energy solutions. Conceptualized on the sidelines of COP21 in Paris in 2015, the organization has grown to include more than 100 signatory nations, with more than 90 having completed the formal ratification process to become full members.

Since a 2020 amendment to its framework agreement, all UN member states have been eligible to join the alliance. Its mission is to unlock $1 trillion in solar investments by 2030 while reducing technology and financing costs. ISA has helped some of the least developed countries meet their energy requirements through solar power, decentralised renewable energy, and micro grids.

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At its 8th assembly in New Delhi from 27 to 30 October, ISA launched the Africa Solar Facility, a $200-million programme focusing on distributed renewable energy, its first financial product to mitigate risk.

In an interview to Mint in November, director general of ISA Ashish Khanna said the organization planned to set up an Asia Solar Facility on the same lines to secure investments for solar projects in underdeveloped and emerging economies. He added that ISA would invest $15 million in the Africa facility, and the Nigerian sovereign wealth fund would contribute about $150 million. The Indian government was also expected to contribute, he said.

America goes its own way

Other organizations that the US has pulled out of include the UN Framework for Convention of Climate Change; International Renewable Energy Agency; Global Counterterrorism Forum; Global Forum on Cyber Expertise; Global Forum on Migration and Development; Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals, and Sustainable Development; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and UN Conference on Trade and Development.

Trump has been vocal about promoting crude oil and natural gas and reversing the energy-transition trend. Last year he announced the US's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, sparking widespread concern over the viability of global climate targets, specifically the 2030 milestones set under the agreement.

In an interview to Mint in February 2025, Brian Motherway, head of the International Energy Agency's (IEA) energy efficiency and inclusive transitions office, said despite the US's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, clean-energy momentum would continue across countries, given the commercial viability and business opportunities in this space. Although individual governments worked differently, energy transition and security would be the top priorities globally, he said.

Also Read | US climate withdrawal spurs Indian rethink on green funding

Queries sent to the spokespersons of ISA, the union ministry of new and renewable energy, and the ministry of external affairs were not answered immediately.

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