With reference to the Agreement at the UNFCCC Meeting in Paris in 2015, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- 1.The Agreement was signed by all the member countries of the UN and it will go into effect in 2017.
- 2.The Agreement aims to limit the greenhouse gas emissions so that the rise in average global temperature by the end of this century does not exceed 2 °C or even 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.
- 3.Developed countries acknowledged their historical responsibility in global warming and committed to donate $ 1000 billion a year from 2020 to help developing countries to cope with climate change.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) 2 only
Only statement 2 is correct: the Paris Agreement's temperature goal is to hold warming well below 2 °C and pursue 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. Statement 1 is wrong because the Agreement entered into force in 2016, and statement 3 is wrong because the finance goal is USD 100 billion a year, not 1000 billion.
- ✗ 1. The Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016, the thirtieth day after 55 Parties covering at least 55 per cent of global emissions had deposited ratifications (Article 21), not in 2017. It was opened for signature from 22 April 2016 to Parties to the UNFCCC, and every country joins by its own signature and ratification.
- ✓ 2. Article 2(1)(a) sets the aim of holding the rise in global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5 °C.
- ✗ 3. The Paris decision urges developed countries to scale up finance towards jointly providing USD 100 billion a year by 2020 for mitigation and adaptation. The figure is 100 billion, not 1000 billion.
Remember · Paris Agreement (adopted 12 December 2015, in force 4 November 2016): well below 2 °C, pursue 1.5 °C; developed countries' goal of USD 100 billion a year by 2020.
Sources
- UNFCCC: Paris Agreement, Article 2 ↗ “Holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels”
- United Nations Treaty Collection, Chapter XXVII-7-d: Paris Agreement ↗ “Entry into force : 4 November 2016, in accordance with article 21(1)”
- UNFCCC: Decision 1/CP.21, Adoption of the Paris Agreement ↗ “strongly urges developed country Parties to scale up their level of financial support, with a concrete road map to achieve the goal of jointly providing USD 100 billion annually by 2020 for mitigation and adaptation”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·