UPSC Prelims 2016 Question:

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.

Explanation:

• The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, France, on 12 December 2015 and entered into force on 4 November 2016. 195 Parties out of 198 Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change are Parties to the Paris Agreement. So, statement 1 is not correct.
  
  
• Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. To achieve this long-term temperature goal, countries aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve a climate neutral world by mid-century. So, statement 2 is correct.
   
• Developed countries committed to donate $100 billion a year from 2020 to help developing countries to cope with climate change. So, statement 3 is not correct.
  
  

Therefore, option (2) is the correct answer.

Subject: Environment | Climate change