UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Developing nations wrongly blamed for emissions: Modi
Q1. The principle that States have 'common but differentiated responsibilities' for the health of the Earth's ecosystem finds explicit expression as a numbered principle in which one of the following?
- A. Principle 7 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, 1992
- B. Principle 21 of the Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment, 1972
- C. Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, 1992
- D. Principle 4 of the Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development, 2002
Q2. Consider the following statements regarding how the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1992 differentiates between categories of its Parties:
1. Parties included in Annex II, a sub-set of the industrialised Annex I Parties, carry the obligation to provide financial resources and facilitate transfer of technology to developing country Parties.
2. Parties with economies in transition, which figure in Annex I but not in Annex II, are granted a certain degree of flexibility in implementing their commitments under the Convention.
3. The 48 Parties classified by the United Nations as least developed countries are, by virtue of that status, listed in Annex I of the Convention.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Parties included in Annex II, a sub-set of the industrialised Annex I Parties, carry the obligation to provide financial resources and facilitate transfer of technology to developing country Parties.
- Parties with economies in transition, which figure in Annex I but not in Annex II, are granted a certain degree of flexibility in implementing their commitments under the Convention.
- The 48 Parties classified by the United Nations as least developed countries are, by virtue of that status, listed in Annex I of the Convention.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1 and 3 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q3. Which one of the following is designated as India's National Focal Point to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and is the nodal body for climate change negotiations?
- A. NITI Aayog, whose ten working groups of Central Ministries and domain experts feed into India's commitments
- B. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, which administers the non-fossil installed capacity programmes
- C. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, through its Climate Change Division
- D. The Ministry of Earth Sciences, which houses the national climate modelling and monitoring programmes
Q4. India's first Nationally Determined Contribution, submitted in 2015 under the Paris Agreement, comprised eight goals. How many of these eight goals carried quantitative targets up to the year 2030?
- A. Two of them
- B. Three of them
- C. Five of them
- D. All eight of them
Q5. India's official position that its share of cumulative global greenhouse gas emissions is only about 4 per cent, even though it is home to more than 17 per cent of the world's population, rests on cumulative emissions computed over which period?
- A. 1850 to 2011
- B. 1900 to 2019
- C. 1971 to 2019
- D. 1850 to 2019
Q6. The UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2025 places world average per capita greenhouse gas emissions at about 6.4 tonnes of CO2 equivalent. With reference to that report, consider the following:
1. China
2. India
3. Russian Federation
4. European Union
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as having per capita emissions above that world average?
- China
- India
- Russian Federation
- European Union
- A. 1 and 3 only
- B. 2 and 4 only
- C. 1, 3 and 4
- D. 3 only
Q7. Jurists, academicians, policymakers, scientists and other stakeholders taking part in the National Green Tribunal's international conference on 'The Future of Environment and Climate Dynamics' at Vigyan Bhavan came from how many countries?
Q8. Consider the following statements about the international conference on 'The Future of Environment and Climate Dynamics':
1. It was organised by the National Green Tribunal and held at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.
2. It was a two-day conference inaugurated by the Prime Minister, with the Chief Justice of India addressing the inaugural session.
3. Participation was restricted exclusively to serving judges of the constitutional courts of the participating countries.
4. The Prime Minister launched the National Green Tribunal's mobile application at the event.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- It was organised by the National Green Tribunal and held at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.
- It was a two-day conference inaugurated by the Prime Minister, with the Chief Justice of India addressing the inaugural session.
- Participation was restricted exclusively to serving judges of the constitutional courts of the participating countries.
- The Prime Minister launched the National Green Tribunal's mobile application at the event.
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 3 and 4
- D. 3 only
Q9. Consider the following statements regarding the National Green Tribunal:
1. It was set up under an Act of Parliament of 2010, its Principal Bench sitting at New Delhi and its zonal benches at Kolkata, Bhopal, Chennai and Pune.
2. Expert Members of the Tribunal hold office for a term of three years, as against a term of five years for the Chairperson and Judicial Members.
3. A person is qualified for appointment as Chairperson only if he is, or has been, a Judge of the Supreme Court of India or Chief Justice of a High Court.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- It was set up under an Act of Parliament of 2010, its Principal Bench sitting at New Delhi and its zonal benches at Kolkata, Bhopal, Chennai and Pune.
- Expert Members of the Tribunal hold office for a term of three years, as against a term of five years for the Chairperson and Judicial Members.
- A person is qualified for appointment as Chairperson only if he is, or has been, a Judge of the Supreme Court of India or Chief Justice of a High Court.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 3 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q10. Among India's climate commitments, which one was the first to be met, having been achieved in 2025 — five years ahead of its 2030 deadline?
- A. Reduction of the total projected carbon emissions of the economy by one billion tonnes
- B. Reduction of the emissions intensity of gross domestic product by 45 per cent over 2005 levels
- C. A 50 per cent share of cumulative installed electric power capacity from non-fossil fuel sources
- D. Attainment of 500 GW of installed electric power capacity from non-fossil fuel sources
Q11. Consider the following statements about two international bodies that took part in the National Green Tribunal's international conference:
1. The United Nations Environment Programme, which arose out of the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment at Stockholm, is headquartered at Nairobi — the first United Nations headquarters sited in the global South.
2. The United Nations Environment Assembly, which replaced the earlier 54-member Governing Council, is the highest-level decision-making body on the environment and has universal membership of all 193 United Nations Member States.
3. The Asian Development Bank, established in 1966 with its headquarters at Manila, has a membership drawn exclusively from countries of the Asia-Pacific region.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The United Nations Environment Programme, which arose out of the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment at Stockholm, is headquartered at Nairobi — the first United Nations headquarters sited in the global South.
- The United Nations Environment Assembly, which replaced the earlier 54-member Governing Council, is the highest-level decision-making body on the environment and has universal membership of all 193 United Nations Member States.
- The Asian Development Bank, established in 1966 with its headquarters at Manila, has a membership drawn exclusively from countries of the Asia-Pacific region.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3