UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — From climate targets to energy justice

Q1. With reference to an 'emissions intensity of GDP' target, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. India's 2022 updated NDC frames its headline 2030 mitigation goal as a cap on total national emissions measured against 1990 levels.
  2. A country can meet an emissions-intensity target even though its total annual emissions in the target year are higher than in the base year.
  3. If a country's GDP contracts while its total emissions stay unchanged, its emissions intensity of GDP rises.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q2. A developing country commits to reducing the emissions intensity of its GDP by 45 per cent from a base year. By the target year its real GDP has tripled, and it meets the intensity target exactly. Compared with the base year, its absolute emissions in the target year will have:

  • A. Risen by about 200 per cent
  • B. Fallen by about 15 per cent
  • C. Risen by about 65 per cent
  • D. Fallen by about 45 per cent

Q3. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. In India, the share of renewable sources in the electricity actually generated has remained well below their share in installed utility capacity.
  2. Solar and wind plants run at much lower capacity utilisation than coal plants because their output depends on whether sunlight and wind are available.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q4. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. The Kyoto Protocol placed binding emission reduction commitments only on developed countries and economies in transition.
  2. The Kyoto Protocol framed those commitments as reductions in the emissions intensity of GDP rather than in total emissions.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q5. With reference to how the Paris Agreement works, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. Each Party sets the content and level of its own contribution, rather than having a target assigned to it in a treaty annex.
  2. Parties are expected to submit an updated NDC every five years, and each round is meant to be more ambitious than the last.
  3. Long-term low-emission development strategies are as mandatory for Parties as NDCs are.
  4. The global stocktake assesses the world's collective progress, and the first one concluded at COP28.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2, 3 and 4
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 4 only

Q6. Consider the following assertion: 'When emissions are counted on a consumption basis, the share of climate responsibility borne by high-income economies is larger than their territorial inventories suggest.' Which of the statements given below support/supports the above assertion?

  1. A significant share of the goods consumed in high-income economies is produced in emerging economies, and the emissions are recorded in the producers' territorial inventories.
  2. Territorial emissions of emerging economies have grown faster than those of high-income economies in recent decades.
  3. Emerging countries use much less energy than developed countries to reach comparable levels of well-being.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q7. With reference to India's climate commitments under the Paris Agreement, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Both the 2022 updated NDC and the later NDC with 2035 targets frame India's non-fossil goal as a share of cumulative installed electric power capacity, not as a share of electricity generated.
  2. The non-fossil target India has set for 2035 is lower than the share it committed to for 2030 in its 2022 updated NDC.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 only
  • C. Both 1 and 2
  • D. Neither 1 nor 2