Climate change and international conventions: previous-year questions
49 real UPSC Prelims questions (2011–2026) with the official answer and a clear explanation. 17 of them came in the last five papers.
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Questions per year, counted from the official papers.
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Which of the following statements regarding ‘Green Climate Fund’ is/are correct?
- 1. It is intended to assist the developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices to counter climate change.
- 2. It is founded under the aegis of UNEP, OECD, Asian Development Bank and World Bank.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (a) & explanation
Only statement 1 is correct (a). The Green Climate Fund was set up at Cancún (COP16, 2010) under the UNFCCC financial mechanism to help developing countries with adaptation and mitigation. Statement 2 is wrong: UNEP, the OECD, ADB and the World Bank did not found it, though the World Bank acted as its interim trustee.
Its headquarters is in Songdo, South Korea, and it aims to split funding evenly between mitigation and adaptation. Notice how climate finance remains a key North–South issue, seen in the new finance goal agreed at COP29 in Baku in 2024.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
‘BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes’ is managed by the
Answer (d) & explanation
The BioCarbon Fund (2004) is managed by the World Bank (d). Its Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (2013) pays for lower land-use emissions across whole landscapes, including farming and forests. The ADB (a), IMF (b) and UNEP (c) do not manage it.
The World Bank also hosts the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, which supports REDD+, and the Prototype Carbon Fund, one of the first carbon funds. Notice how the World Bank has become a central player in carbon finance, linking forests, farming and climate goals through results-based payments.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to ‘Global Environment Facility’, which of the following statements is/are correct?
Answer (a) & explanation
The GEF (1991) is the financial mechanism for the CBD and the UNFCCC (a), and also for the UNCCD, the Stockholm Convention on POPs and the Minamata Convention on mercury. Option (b) is wrong because the GEF funds projects but does not carry out scientific research itself, so (d) also fails. Option (c) is wrong: the GEF is not an OECD agency. The World Bank acts as its trustee, and UNDP, UNEP and others implement its projects.
Notice how the GEF links the three Rio conventions of 1992: biodiversity, climate and desertification share one funding window.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The scientific view is that the increase in global temperature should not exceed 2°C above pre-industrial level. If the global temperature increases beyond 3°C above the pre-industrial level, what can be its possible impact/impacts on the world?
- 1. Terrestrial biosphere tends toward a net carbon source.
- 2. Widespread coral mortality will occur.
- 3. All the global wetlands will permanently disappear.
- 4. Cultivation of cereals will not be possible anywhere in the world.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (b) & explanation
The IPCC's Fourth Assessment (2007) warned that above about 3°C of warming, the terrestrial biosphere would tend to become a net carbon source, releasing more carbon than it absorbs (1 correct), and that widespread coral mortality would occur (2 correct). Statements 3 and 4 use extreme words: "all" wetlands vanishing permanently and cereals failing "anywhere" go far beyond the science, so the answer is (b).
The Paris Agreement (2015) aims to keep warming well below 2°C and pursue 1.5°C. Notice how words like "all", "only" and "anywhere" are often UPSC's signal of a wrong statement.
"All ... permanently" and "anywhere in the world": absolute words like these give the wrong statements away.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
If National Water Mission is properly and completely implemented, how will it impact the country?
- 1. Part of the water needs of urban areas will be met through recycling of waste-water.
- 2. The water requirements of coastal cities with inadequate alternative sources of water will be met by adopting appropriate technologies that allow for the use of ocean water.
- 3. All the rivers of Himalayan origin will be linked to the rivers of peninsular India.
- 4. The expenses incurred by farmers for digging bore-wells and for installing motors and pump-sets to draw ground-water will be completely reimbursed by the Government.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
Answer (b) & explanation
Statements 1 and 2 are correct (b). The National Water Mission is one of the eight missions of the National Action Plan on Climate Change (2008). It aims to raise water-use efficiency by 20%, including recycling of waste water in cities (1) and desalination and other technologies for coastal cities short of water (2). Statement 3 is wrong: interlinking of rivers is a separate programme, not part of the mission. Statement 4 is wrong: the mission does not reimburse farmers' bore-well and pump costs; it seeks to curb groundwater overuse. So (a), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the related schemes: Atal Bhujal Yojana (2019) for groundwater, Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain, and the Ken–Betwa link, the first project under the national river-linking plan.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The acidification of oceans is increasing. Why is this phenomenon a cause of concern?
- 1. The growth and survival of calcareous phytoplankton will be adversely affected.
- 2. The growth and survival of coral reefs will be adversely affected.
- 3. The survival of some animals that have phytoplanktonic larvae will be adversely affected.
- 4. The cloud seeding and formation of clouds will be adversely affected.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (a) & explanation
Statements 1, 2 and 3 are correct per UPSC's key (a), but item 4 is arguable. The sea absorbs CO₂ and forms carbonic acid, lowering pH and the carbonate that organisms need to build calcium carbonate shells and skeletons. This harms calcareous phytoplankton such as coccolithophores (1), coral reefs (2), and animals such as oysters and sea urchins with planktonic larval stages (3). Item 4: some plankton release dimethyl sulphide, which seeds clouds, so acidification may indirectly affect clouds; UPSC treated this as not established.
Notice the numbers: surface ocean pH has fallen from about 8.2 to 8.1 since industrialisation, about a 30% rise in acidity. A 2025 study said ocean acidification has crossed its planetary boundary. Trap: 'acid' does not mean the sea is actually acidic; it stays alkaline.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The increasing amount of carbon dioxide in the air is slowly raising the temperature of the atmosphere, because it absorbs
Answer (d) & explanation
The infrared part is correct (d). Carbon dioxide lets visible sunlight pass, but it absorbs infrared (heat) radiation, mainly the long-wave radiation given off by the warmed Earth, and some of the infrared in sunlight. It then re-radiates this heat in all directions, including back to the surface: the greenhouse effect. (a) is wrong: CO₂ does not absorb water vapour. (b) is wrong: ultraviolet is absorbed mainly by ozone in the stratosphere. (c) is wrong: CO₂ is transparent to most visible light.
Notice the numbers: CO₂ has risen from about 280 ppm before industrialisation to over 420 ppm, and 2024 was the first calendar year above 1.5°C of warming. Water vapour is the largest greenhouse gas, and methane is far stronger per molecule. Trap: the question says 'solar radiation', but the key effect is on the Earth's own infrared.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following agricultural practices :
- 1. Contour bunding
- 2. Relay cropping
- 3. Zero tillage
In the context of global climate change, which of the above helps/help in carbon sequestration/storage in the soil?
Answer (b) & explanation
Zero tillage only is correct per UPSC's key (b), though the key is arguable. Zero tillage leaves the soil undisturbed and keeps crop residue on top, so soil organic carbon builds up instead of being oxidised to CO₂ (3). Contour bunding mainly checks soil erosion on slopes (1); by keeping topsoil and moisture in place it can help retain carbon indirectly, so some argue for (c). Relay cropping, sowing a second crop before the first is harvested, mainly uses the season fully (2). UPSC chose the practice whose direct aim is carbon storage.
Notice the related tools: Happy Seeder machines allow sowing into rice stubble in Punjab, cutting stubble burning. Cover crops, agroforestry and biochar also store soil carbon. The '4 per 1000' initiative (COP21) promotes soil carbon. Trap: erosion control is not the same as sequestration.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Regarding “carbon credits”, which one of the following statements is *not* correct ?
Answer (d) & explanation
Statement (d) is not correct, so it is the answer. Carbon credits came with the Kyoto Protocol (1997) (a), through mechanisms like the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and emissions trading. One credit equals the reduction of one tonne of CO₂ or its equivalent. Countries or entities that cut emissions below their quota earn credits (b) and can sell them, so the goal is to limit emissions (c). But their price is set by supply and demand in carbon markets, not fixed by the UNEP, which makes (d) false.
Notice the new framework: under the Paris Agreement, Article 6 sets up new carbon market rules, finalised at COP29 (Baku, 2024). India launched its own Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) under the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2022, with emission-intensity targets for industries notified in 2025. Trap: the UN body does not fix prices; the market does.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.