Discuss global warming and mention its effects on the global climate. Explain the control measures to bring down the level of greenhouse gases which cause global warming, in the light of the Kyoto Protocol, 1997.
Approach · directive: “discuss / explain”
What it asks · Explain global warming and its climatic effects, then explain how the Kyoto Protocol (1997) sought to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
It asks 3 things — answer each
- Discuss global warming: what it is and what causes it
- Mention its effects on the global climate
- Explain the control measures to bring down greenhouse gases, in the light of the Kyoto Protocol, 1997
Open with · The IPCC's Sixth Assessment (2023) finds human activity has unequivocally caused global warming, with surface temperature 1.1°C above 1850-1900 in 2011-2020; global warming is this rise, driven by greenhouse gases.
Cover
- Causes: burning fossil fuels, deforestation, agriculture and industry raise carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases.
- Effects on climate: higher temperatures, melting glaciers and rising seas, more intense heat waves, cyclones, floods and droughts, shifting monsoons and ocean acidification.
- Kyoto Protocol basics: adopted in 1997 under the UNFCCC and in force from 2005, it set legally binding limits on industrialised (Annex I) countries, an average of 5% below 1990 levels over 2008-2012.
- Principle and tools: common but differentiated responsibilities, with flexible mechanisms, namely emissions trading, Joint Implementation and the Clean Development Mechanism, from which India gained.
- Second period: the Doha Amendment (2012) set a further commitment for 2013-2020 with fewer participants.
- Assessment: the United States never ratified, Canada withdrew and large developing emitters had no binding limits, which led to the Paris Agreement's nationally determined contributions (2015).
- Other controls: renewables, energy efficiency, forests and sinks, methane control, carbon pricing and carbon capture.
Close with · Kyoto proved binding targets and carbon markets can work; India's updated NDC (45% cut in emissions intensity by 2030, net zero by 2070) carries that logic into the Paris era, with LiFE adding the demand side.
Add value (verified)
- IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report, Summary for Policymakers (2023), A.1: human activities have unequivocally caused global warming; global surface temperature reached 1.1°C above 1850-1900 in 2011-2020.IPCC, AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023, Summary for Policymakers, A.1 ↗“Human activities, principally through emissions of greenhouse gases, have unequivocally caused global warming, with global surface temperature reaching 1.1°C above 1850-1900 in 2011-2020.”
- PMO (January 2017): the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997 with a first commitment period of 2008-2012; the Doha Amendment of 2012 set the second period for 2013-2020.PMO (24 January 2017): Cabinet approves ratification of the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC ↗“The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997 and the 1st commitment period was from 2008-2012. At Doha in 2012, the amendments to Kyoto Protocol for the 2nd commitment period (the Doha Amendment) were successfully adopted for the period 2013- 2020.”
- PMO (January 2017): CDM projects under the second commitment period would attract investment in India.PMO (24 January 2017): Cabinet approves ratification of the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC ↗“Implementation of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects under this commitment period in accordance with Suslainable Development priorities will attract some investments in India as well.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2022, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 359words · Minimalist IAS
The IPCC's Sixth Assessment (2023) finds that human activities have 'unequivocally caused global warming', with global surface temperature 1.1°C above 1850-1900 in 2011-2020. Global warming is this rise in the Earth's average surface temperature, driven by greenhouse gases added since the Industrial Revolution, and it is reshaping the climate everywhere.
Global warming and its causes
- Greenhouse effect: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases trap outgoing heat; more of them means a warmer surface.
- Sources: fossil fuels for power, transport and industry, deforestation, agriculture and livestock, with unequal historical contributions from unsustainable energy and land use (IPCC, 2023).
Effects on the global climate
- Heat: higher average temperatures and more frequent, more intense heat waves.
- Water: melting glaciers and ice sheets, rising seas, and stronger cyclones, floods and droughts.
- Systems: shifting monsoons, ocean warming and acidification, and stress on ecosystems, food and water supplies.
Control measures in the light of the Kyoto Protocol, 1997
- 1992: UNFCCC at the Rio Earth Summit
- 1997: Kyoto Protocol adopted
- 2005: enters into force
- 2012: Doha Amendment
- 2015: Paris Agreement
- Binding targets: adopted under the UNFCCC and in force from 2005, Kyoto bound 35 industrialised countries to cut emissions by 2012 to 5% below 1990 levels (NCERT Class XI Geography).
- Differentiated responsibility: developing countries had no binding limits, India among them; it ratified the Protocol in August 2002 (NCERT Class XII Political Science).
- Flexible mechanisms: emissions trading, Joint Implementation and the Clean Development Mechanism, through which Indian projects earned carbon credits.
- Second period: the Doha Amendment (2012) set commitments for 2013-2020; India's Cabinet approved ratification in January 2017, noting that CDM projects would attract investment (PMO).
- Limits: the United States never ratified, Canada withdrew and large developing emitters stayed unbound, which led to the Paris Agreement's nationally determined contributions (2015).
- Measures beyond Kyoto: renewables and energy efficiency, protecting forests and other sinks, methane control, carbon pricing and carbon capture.
Kyoto proved that binding targets and carbon markets can work; India's updated NDC, a 45% cut in emissions intensity by 2030 and net zero by 2070, carries that logic into the Paris era, with the LiFE movement adding the demand side that Kyoto never reached.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
