Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu said that demand for energy will increase due to rapid development taking place in India and fossil fuel is not going to last forever and therefore there is need for renewable energy. He was speaking at afunction of International Solar Alliance (ISA) Innovation and Investment Forum in New Delhi today. Suresh Prabhu said that fossil fuel is not going to last for ever even if its resources are managed in the best possible manner. He said that the use of shale gas and oil is limited and it adversely impacts the environment. The threat of climate change has become a reality and it has affected bio-diversity of the planet. Imbalanced use of energy is the root cause of many environmental problems in different parts of the world. It is causing unprecedented heat wave conditions in Europe, intensity and frequency of typhoons have also increased.

Referring to variations in Monsoon rainfall in India, the Minister said that India is in no way responsible for what is happening in the atmosphere over Indian Ocean, but it has to bear the consequences of ocean warming. He said that the time has come when we will have to switch over to the clean form of energy like solar power.

The Minister stated that the idea of solar alliance was conceived by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in 2015 as a treaty based international intergovernmental organization. ISA stands for co-operation among 121 solar rich countries lying fully or partially between the tropics in order to promote massive deployment of solar energy and make solar energy affordable.

He said ISA provides an opportunity to all countries to bring prosperity, energy security and sustainable development to their peoples. He said that once the generation of solar energy goes up, its prices will come down. Suresh Prabhu stressed on joint efforts required to reduce the cost of finance and technology for massive production of solar energy. He said many firms of Australia and Japan are keen to invest in India in solar energy sector. The Minister emphasized on the need for sending market signals so that more funds are invested in R&D in solar energy. India has set a target to generate100 GW solar energy by 2022 for increasing share of carbon free energy in the energy mix.

Renewable energy target expands solar generation; policy urges international cooperation, cheaper finance and increased R&D investment. India commits to a national target to generate 100 GW solar energy by 2022 to increase carbon free energy share, driven by concerns over fossil fuel limits and climate impacts. Achievement is to be pursued through cooperation under the International Solar Alliance, efforts to reduce the cost of finance and technology, attraction of foreign investment, and enhanced support for research and development in solar energy.