Climate change & agreements

Answer: (b) 2 only

Only statement 2 is correct: GACSA is a voluntary alliance and its members are not bound by any commitments or obligations. It was launched in New York in 2014, not as an outcome of the Paris summit of 2015, and India was not one of its creators.

• ✗ 1. The UN Secretary-General launched GACSA in New York during the Climate Summit on 24 September 2014, more than a year before the Paris climate conference of 2015.
• ✓ 2. GACSA's guiding principles state that members are not bound by any commitments or obligations and decide for themselves how they take part.
• ✗ 3. GACSA was launched by the UN Secretary-General, and FAO hosts its Facilitation Unit. FAO's account of the groundwork conferences names the governments of the Netherlands, Ethiopia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway and Viet Nam, the World Bank and the FAO, not India, and India is not listed among the government members in GACSA's 2022 annual report.

Remember · GACSA: launched 24 September 2014 at the UN Climate Summit, New York; voluntary, no binding obligations; its Facilitation Unit is hosted by FAO.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) Increased plant growth due to increased concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

Carbon fertilization (CO2 fertilization) means plants photosynthesise more, and often grow more, when the CO2 in the air rises. CO2 acts like a nutrient for plants, so the effect is on plant growth. Whether the extra photosynthesis becomes real growth still depends on temperature, moisture and nutrients.

• ✓ (a) The IPCC defines CO2 fertilization as the increase of plant photosynthesis and water-use efficiency in response to higher atmospheric CO2; it can lead to more plant growth and carbon storage.
• ✗ (b) Rising temperature from extra CO2 is the greenhouse effect (global warming), a different process.
• ✗ (c) Falling ocean pH because the sea absorbs CO2 is ocean acidification, a separate consequence of higher CO2.
• ✗ (d) 'Fertilization' refers to boosted plant growth, not to all living things adapting to climate change.

Remember · Carbon (CO2) fertilization = more atmospheric CO2 boosts plant photosynthesis and growth; warming is the greenhouse effect and ocean pH fall is acidification.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development 2012, Rio de Janeiro

PAGE was created as a response to the call made at Rio+20, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 2012, and was launched in 2013. It brings UN agencies together to help countries build greener, more inclusive economies.

• ✓ (b) The UN describes PAGE as launched in 2013 in response to the call at Rio+20, whose outcome document 'The Future We Want' recognised the green economy as a route to sustainable development.
• ✗ (a) The 2002 Johannesburg summit came ten years before PAGE's origin and is not linked to it.
• ✗ (c) The 2015 Paris climate conference produced the Paris Agreement, two years after PAGE had started.
• ✗ (d) The World Sustainable Development Summit in New Delhi is an Indian conference series; it is not a UN conference and did not give rise to PAGE.

Remember · PAGE is a UN partnership born from Rio+20 (2012) and launched in 2013 to help countries build green, inclusive economies.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) The UNFCCC Secretariat

Climate Neutral Now was launched in 2015 by the secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), based in Bonn. It urges individuals, companies and governments to measure their emissions, cut them and offset the rest with UN-certified emission reductions; 'Momentum for Change' is the secretariat's linked programme that recognises such action.

• ✓ (c) The UNFCCC's own page calls Climate Neutral Now one of several initiatives launched by the UNFCCC secretariat to engage non-Party stakeholders such as companies, cities and individuals.
• ✗ (a) The IPCC assesses climate science for governments; it does not run voluntary action or offsetting campaigns.
• ✗ (b) The UNEP secretariat works on environmental programmes generally; this climate-neutrality drive belongs to the UN climate convention's secretariat.
• ✗ (d) The World Meteorological Organization deals with weather, climate and water observation and data, not this campaign.

Remember · Climate Neutral Now (2015) belongs to the UNFCCC secretariat: measure, reduce, offset with UN-certified credits, aiming at a climate-neutral world by 2050.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error