UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — India withdraws bid to host climate summit in 2028

Q1. In which year and at which city was the first session of the Conference of the Parties (COP1) to the UNFCCC convened?

  • A. 1992, Rio de Janeiro
  • B. 1994, Geneva
  • C. 1995, Berlin
  • D. 1997, Kyoto

Q2. Following India's withdrawal of its candidature, which country remains the sole declared contender from the Asia-Pacific group to host COP33 in 2028?

  • A. Japan
  • B. South Korea
  • C. Indonesia
  • D. Australia

Q3. India's communication withdrawing its bid to host COP33 was conveyed by which Union ministry, which serves as the nodal ministry for UNFCCC negotiations?

  • A. Ministry of External Affairs
  • B. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
  • C. Ministry of Earth Sciences
  • D. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

Q4. The most recent United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP) hosted by India was held in which year and city?

  • A. 2002, New Delhi
  • B. 2002, Mumbai
  • C. 1997, New Delhi
  • D. 2009, New Delhi

Q5. The 'Delhi Ministerial Declaration', adopted at the COP hosted by India in 2002, is best described as—

  • A. a political declaration reaffirming development and poverty eradication as overriding priorities of developing countries under common but differentiated responsibilities
  • B. a binding timetable prescribing quantified emission-cut targets for developed countries
  • C. the treaty decision that operationalised the loss and damage fund
  • D. the agreement that established the Clean Development Mechanism

Q6. The right to host the annual COP rotates among the UN's five regional groups. Which of the following are correctly identified as one of these recognised UN regional groups?

  1. Asia-Pacific Group
  2. Group of Latin American and Caribbean States (GRULAC)
  3. Group of Western European and Other States (WEOG)
  4. Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Group
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 2 and 4
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q7. COP hosting rotates among UN regional groups. Consider the following pairings of a recent COP with the regional group/country of its host. Which one of the pairings is NOT correctly matched?

  1. COP30 (2025) — Group of Latin American and Caribbean States (Brazil, Belém)
  2. COP32 (2027) — African Group (Ethiopia)
  3. COP33 (2028) — Asia-Pacific Group
  4. COP29 (2024) — Group of Western European and Other States (Azerbaijan, Baku)
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 4 only
  • D. 1 and 4

Q8. India's headline long-term climate pledge, first announced by the Prime Minister at COP26 (Glasgow) as part of the 'Panchamrit', is to achieve net-zero emissions by which year?

  • A. 2050
  • B. 2060
  • C. 2070
  • D. 2047

Q9. India's Nationally Determined Contribution for 2031-2035 was shaped through ten working groups constituted under which institution?

  • A. NITI Aayog
  • B. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
  • C. Ministry of Power
  • D. Prime Minister's Office

Q10. For how many of the three 'Rio Conventions' — the UNFCCC, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) — does the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change act as India's nodal ministry?

  • A. One
  • B. Two
  • C. All three
  • D. None