France Pledges €700 Million To Solar Energy
France will spend an extra €700 million euros ($862 million) by 2022 to help developing countries with their solar energy projects, says president Emmanuel Macron speaking at the founding conference of the International Solar Alliance in New Delhi.
Emerging economies will get the assistance in the form of loans and donations, over and above the 300 million euros ($369m) France had already committed in 2015.
The International Solar Alliance is a treaty based inter-governmental alliance of 121 sunshine-rich countries that lie fully or partially between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Their adoption of solar energy is expected to help reduce the use of fossil fuels and combat climate change. Sixty countries have signed the agreement to join the alliance. Macron said member countries made up three-fourths of the world population, PTI reported.
At the event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed a 10-point action plan to make affordable solar energy technology available to all nations.
