New Delhi, Oct 18 (IANS): India's Power and Renewable Energy Minister Raj Kumar Singh on Tuesday said that the past two years have provided multiple reminders that the global dependence on fossil fuels is unhealthy, not just for the environment, but also for the economy.

Inaugurating the fifth Assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) here, he said: "The good news is that we already have the tools we need to counter these, and the development in technology is making sure that even more effective resources are made available in the years to come. It is now up to us to decide how quickly we can deploy these. In this pursuit for energy transition, we also have the responsibility of enabling development in the parts of the world that lack access to energy and energy security."

The conference will continue till October 20.

India holds the office of the President of the ISA Assembly, with France as Co-President.

Ministers from 20 countries and delegates from across 110 member and signatory countries and 18 prospective member countries are participating in the ISA Assembly.

Singh also said that "it is our mission that ISA can assist member nations in formulating and implementing solar-ready policies and regulatory development of national energy landscapes and for engaging with public and private sector entities to leverage low cost financing to achieve ISA's solarisation agenda".

The ISA is structured as an international resource hub with in-house technical expertise that will be readily accessible by member nations and is capable of guiding project implementation at scale.