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Environment & ecology

Prelims · Environment & ecology · 53 questions

Climate change & agreements

Every UPSC Prelims question on this topic, 2016–2026, newest first. Tap an option to check yourself; the answer and explanation open below it.

Climate change & agreements questions per year: 2016: 6, 2017: 3, 2018: 4, 2019: 2, 2020: 1, 2021: 2, 2022: 4, 2023: 2, 2024: 1, 2025: 5, 2026: 3 Asked in 11 of 11 years · most in 2016 (6)

UPSC syllabus: “General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require subject specialization.” See the full syllabus →

Prelims 2017 · Q25

Easy

In the context of mitigating the impending global warming due to anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide, which of the following can be the potential sites for carbon sequestration?

  1. 1.Abandoned and uneconomic coal seams
  2. 2.Depleted oil and gas reservoirs
  3. 3.Subterranean deep saline formations

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Answer & explanation

Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

Geological carbon storage injects captured CO2 deep underground into porous rock sealed by an impermeable cap. Saline formations, oil and gas reservoirs and unmineable coal seams are all standard candidate sites, so all three are correct.

  • ✓ 1. Coal that cannot be mined economically can adsorb CO2 on its surfaces; unmineable coal seams are one of the formation types studied for storage.
  • ✓ 2. Oil and gas reservoirs held fluids for millions of years under a sealing layer, so once depleted they can hold injected CO2; injection can also push out extra oil.
  • ✓ 3. Deep saline formations (porous rock filled with brine) have the largest storage capacity and are the main target for large-scale storage.

Remember · Geological CO2 storage sites: deep saline formations, depleted oil and gas reservoirs, unmineable coal seams (also organic-rich shales and basalt).

Sources

  • US Department of Energy, NETL: Carbon Storage FAQs ↗ “The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is investigating five types of underground formations for geologic carbon storage: Saline formations Oil and natural gas reservoirs Unmineable coal seams Organic-rich shales Basalt formations … Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is the separation and capture of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the emissions of industrial processes prior to release into the atmosphere and storage of the CO 2 in deep underground geologic formations.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2017, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2017 · Q52

Medium

With reference to ‘Global Climate Change Alliance’, which of the following statements is/are correct?

  1. 1.It is an initiative of the European Union.
  2. 2.It provides technical and financial support to targeted developing countries to integrate climate change into their development policies and budgets.
  3. 3.It is coordinated by World Resources Institute (WRI) and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only

The Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA) is a European Union initiative, launched in 2007 to help the poorest and most climate-vulnerable developing countries, so statements 1 and 2 are correct. It is run by the EU, not by two private research and business bodies.

  • ✓ 1. The EU launched the GCCA in 2007 for poor developing countries most exposed to climate change; it later became GCCA+, the EU's flagship climate initiative for such countries.
  • ✓ 2. The Alliance was designed to give technical and financial support for adaptation and for building climate change into national development strategies, sometimes through budget support.
  • ✗ 3. WRI and WBCSD are the two bodies behind the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, a corporate emissions-accounting standard. They do not coordinate the GCCA, which is managed by the EU.

Remember · GCCA (2007) is an EU initiative for least developed countries and small island states. WRI and WBCSD belong to the GHG Protocol, a different matter.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2017, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2017 · Q65

Medium

Consider the following statements:

  1. 1.Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) to Reduce Short Lived Climate Pollutants is a unique initiative of G20 group of countries.
  2. 2.The CCAC focuses on methane, black carbon and hydrofluorocarbons.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) 2 only

The Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) is a voluntary partnership convened within the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), not an initiative of the G20, so statement 1 is wrong. It targets methane, black carbon and hydrofluorocarbons, so statement 2 is correct.

  • ✗ 1. The CCAC was founded in 2012 and is convened within UNEP. It is a voluntary partnership of governments, intergovernmental organisations and non-governmental organisations, not a project of the G20 group.
  • ✓ 2. The CCAC works to cut short-lived climate pollutants: methane, black carbon, hydrofluorocarbons and tropospheric ozone. These stay in the air only briefly but heat the planet strongly and harm air quality.

Remember · CCAC (2012) is a UNEP-convened voluntary coalition on short-lived climate pollutants: methane, black carbon, HFCs and tropospheric ozone. It is not a G20 body.

Sources

  • UNEP: Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) ↗ “Founded in 2012, and convened within UNEP, The Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) is a voluntary partnership of more than 190 governments, intergovernmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations. … The CCAC works to reduce powerful but short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) – methane, black carbon, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and tropospheric ozone – that drive both climate change and air pollution.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2017, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

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