UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Funding India’s climate future, a trillion-dollar question
Q1. Which one of the following is the nodal authority that released the Draft Framework of India's Climate Finance Taxonomy (2025) for public consultation?
- A. Reserve Bank of India
- B. Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance
- C. NITI Aayog
- D. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Q2. Consider the following targets:
1. Reduction of emissions intensity of GDP by 47% by 2035 from the 2005 level.
2. Creation of an additional carbon sink of 3.5–4.0 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2035 from the 2005 level through forest and tree cover.
3. Achieving 50% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based sources by 2030.
4. Achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2070.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as targets under India's Nationally Determined Contribution (2031–2035) communicated to the UNFCCC?
- Reduction of emissions intensity of GDP by 47% by 2035 from the 2005 level.
- Creation of an additional carbon sink of 3.5–4.0 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2035 from the 2005 level through forest and tree cover.
- Achieving 50% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based sources by 2030.
- Achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2070.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1, 2 and 3
- C. 2 and 4 only
- D. 1, 3 and 4
Q3. With reference to international climate negotiations, the term 'New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG)' refers to which one of the following?
- A. A binding commitment under the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism to channel USD 1.3 trillion to the Least Developed Countries by 2030.
- B. A post-2025 climate finance goal under the Paris Agreement, agreed at COP29, under which developed country Parties take the lead in mobilising at least USD 300 billion per year by 2035 for developing countries.
- C. A universal obligation on all Parties to the UNFCCC, including major developing economies, to contribute equally to a common climate finance pool of USD 100 billion per year from 2025.
- D. A voluntary G20 pledge to triple global renewable energy capacity and double the rate of improvement in energy efficiency by 2030.
Q4. Consider the following statements regarding the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance vis-à-vis the previous goal it replaces:
1. The NCQG triples the previous quantified climate finance goal of USD 100 billion per year.
2. The NCQG core target of USD 300 billion per year is to be achieved by 2035.
3. Alongside the NCQG, a 'Baku to Belém Roadmap' was launched to scale climate finance to developing countries from all public and private sources to USD 1.3 trillion per year by 2035.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The NCQG triples the previous quantified climate finance goal of USD 100 billion per year.
- The NCQG core target of USD 300 billion per year is to be achieved by 2035.
- Alongside the NCQG, a 'Baku to Belém Roadmap' was launched to scale climate finance to developing countries from all public and private sources to USD 1.3 trillion per year by 2035.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q5. The Draft Framework of India's Climate Finance Taxonomy, released for public consultation in 2025, was first announced in which one of the following Union Budgets?
- A. Union Budget 2022-23
- B. Union Budget 2023-24
- C. Union Budget 2024-25
- D. Union Budget 2025-26