Dominican Republic participates in the ISA’s Governance Meetings 2021

New Delhi – The Dominican Republic took part in the two regional sessions for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) 2021 Governance Meetings. The ministerial and the National Focal Points sessions were convened via the ISA’s online platform, to discuss the regional priorities and the strategic initiatives of the ISA Secretariat for the coming period. Both meetings were headed by H.E. Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General ISA, and co-chaired by the regional vice-presidents from the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Republic of Cuba.

At the ministerial regional committee meeting, held on the 24th of August, the Dominican Republic was represented by the Deputy Minister of Energy Saving and Efficiency of the Ministry of Energy and Mining, Mr. Alfonso Rodríguez. Members of the National Council for Climate Change and Clean Development Mechanism of the Dominican Republic (CNCCMDL) and the Dominican Embassy in Delhi were also present in the meeting that gathered 97 representatives from 19 LAC countries.

During his address, Mr. Rodríguez highlighted the efforts of the Dominican Republic to push forward renewable energies and the country’s commitment to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by one-third by 2030 compared with the levels of 2010. He also stressed that the Dominican Republic has set the target of producing 25% of its energy with renewables by 2030.

Previous to the ministerial session, the regional National Focal Points consultations took place on the 17th of August. The Dominican Republic was represented by Mr. Max Puig, Executive Vice-president of the National Council for Climate Change and Clean Development Mechanism of the Dominican Republic (CNCCMDL), and ISA National Focal Point for the Dominican Republic.

The participation in these meetings was coordinated by the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in India, along with the CNCCMDL and the Ministry of Energy and Mines.

One of the main key points heralded during both meetings was the ISA’s Strategic Plan for the next Five Years, pursuant to the mandate of the Framework Agreement establishing the ISA to support Member countries in mobilizing more than USD 1 Trillion investments in the solar energy sector by 2030. The plan aims to support Member countries in developing a vibrant solar energy ecosystem and create a viable & bankable solar energy project pipeline through key activities encompassing, among other things, readiness and enabling activities, risk mitigation and innovative financing instruments, investment mobilization, and promotion of technologies. To implement ISA’s Strategic plan, the ISA Secretariat has developed a proposal for Country Partnership Framework, to institutionalise continuous and focused engagement with the ISA Member countries, taking into consideration their respective needs.

A franco-indian initiative launched in 2015, with headquarters in Gurugam, India, the ISA has been conceived as a coalition of solar-resource-rich countries to address their special energy needs. It aims at being "an action-oriented, member-driven, collaborative platform for increased deployment of solar energy technologies to enhance energy security and sustainable development, and to improve access to energy in developing member countries".

For more information please visit their website : https://isolaralliance.org