Prelims 2016 · Environment · Question 22
With reference to the Agreement at the UNFCCC Meeting in Paris in 2015, which of the following statements is/are correct?<br/>1. The Agreement was signed by all the member countries of the UN and it will go into effect in 2017.<br/>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.<br/>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.<br/><br/>Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer
2 only
1. Incorrect. The Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015, opened for signature in 2016, and entered into force on 4 November 2016, not 2017. Also, it was not signed by all UN member countries at that time.
2. Correct. The Agreement aims to keep global temperature rise well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C.
3. Incorrect. Developed countries had earlier committed to mobilize USD 100 billion per year by 2020, not USD 1000 billion. The Paris Agreement also does not frame this as a formal acceptance of legal historical liability.
Therefore, only statement 2 is correct.