France to commit 700 million euros to International Solar Alliance

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - France will commit 700 million euros to the International Solar Alliance (ISA), President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday at the founding conference of the organization, reiterating the European country’s commitment to the alliance and clean energy.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) shakes hands with French
President Emmanuel Macron as he arrives to attend the International
 Solar Alliance Founding Conference in New Delhi, India, March 11, 2018.

ISA is an inter-governmental organization that aims to mobilize $1 trillion in funds for future solar generation, storage and technology across the world. It has 60 signatories, with 30 of those countries having ratified the agreement.

The treaty-based organization, launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, aims to promote solar energy in 121 countries.

Speaking at the conference, Macron said France was more than tripling its commitment to the alliance, and its total monetary contribution to the alliance stood at one billion euros.

Read the Reuters story by Sudarshan Varadhan - “France to commit 700 million euros to International Solar Alliance.”

A 'Decade of Extremes' - WMO

A “Decade of Extremes” is the description given to the past 10 years by the World Meteorological Organization.

In the forward to its report, the organization says:

“The first decade of the 21st century was the warmest decade recorded since modern measurements began around 1850. It saw above-average precipitation, including one year – 2010 – that broke all previous records.

It was also marked by dramatic climate and weather extremes such as the European heatwave of 2003, the 2010 floods in Pakistan, hurricane Katrina in the United States of America (USA), cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and long-term droughts in the Amazon Basin, Australia and East Africa.”