Underscoring India’s support to the island nations through the ISA, Yadav detailed the country’s rapid expansion in clean energy as he said: “Today, India has crossed 500 gigawatts of installed electricity capacity and more than half of it is clean energy. India has already reached 50 per cent non-fossil energy capacity, five years ahead of its NDC target.”

Calling India world’s fourth-largest renewable energy producer and third in solar power, Yadav attributed the progress to “the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his belief in Scale, Speed, and in the power of ordinary people.”

The minister shared examples from India’s 'PM Surya Ghar Rooftop Solar Programme' and highlighted India’s push for solar in remote regions through the PM JANMAN scheme and the country's investments in large-scale storage.

More than 20 lakh households have adopted rooftop solar, which Yadav described as “freedom for every household” and “a mini power plant on every roof.”

India's farmers “work with the sun and sleep with peace”, as solar pumps and feeders replace diesel, reduce costs and improve reliability, he described.

Yadav went on to describe how India is building some of the world’s biggest integrated solar-and-battery projects, including one in Ladakh designed to store enough clean energy “to light up an entire city.”

Such models can help SIDS cut diesel imports and strengthen climate resilience, the minister added.