The Government of India has asserted that the International Solar Alliance (ISA) will remain steadfast in its mission to scale up clean energy, downplaying the impact of the United States’ formal withdrawal from the body.
India currently holds the presidency of the Gurugram-headquartered alliance, led by Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi, while France continues as the co-president.
The Centre noted that the alliance, which now represents 125 member and signatory countries, is operating at full capacity across more than 95 nations.
“The ISA remains focused on its objective of supporting member countries in collectively addressing key common challenges to scaling up solar energy,” media reports quoted a government source. “We will continue to work with member countries, particularly Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), to achieve universal energy access.”
The US policy shift:
The withdrawal was finalized on January 7, 2026, when President Donald Trump signed a memorandum to exit 66 international organizations deemed contrary to the interests of the United States.
The America First pivot targets multilateral climate pacts, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing such bodies as “redundant” and “captured by agendas contrary to our own.”
Impact and outlook:
While the US exit is seen by analysts as a spanner in the works for bilateral climate diplomacy, Indian officials remain optimistic. The ISA’s core strategy—’Towards 1000’—aims to:
• Mobilize $1,000 billion in solar investments by 2030.
• Provide energy access to 1,000 million people.
• Install 1,000 GW of solar capacity.
By leading from the front, India intends to use its presidency to ensure the alliance continues to serve as a symbol of South-South cooperation, regardless of the shift in Washington’s trajectory.
It must be noted that the ISA, a flagship initiative launched by India and France at COP21 in 2015, was designed to mobilize $1 trillion in solar investments for developing nations. The US had joined the alliance in 2021 under the previous administration. However, the current White House memorandum characterizes such multilateral commitments as “wasteful” and “redundant,” prioritizing a “Fortress America” doctrine that favors domestic energy production over global climate pacts.
Meanwhile, analysts suggest that the future of the Alliance is bright. Despite the loss of US funding—which amounted to approximately $2.1 million between 2022 and 2025—the ISA continues to expand its footprint in Africa and the Global South. They opine that the US exit may create a leadership vacuum that other global powers, including China, may seek to fill.
