Environmental Initiatives MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for Environmental Initiatives - Download Free PDF

Key Points

• The Environment Protection Act, 1986 was enacted by the Government of India in response to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, which occurred in December 1984.
• The Bhopal Disaster is considered one of the world's worst industrial disasters, resulting in thousands of deaths and long-term health effects for the affected population.
• The Act provides a framework for the coordination of central and state authorities in environmental protection and enforcement of environmental laws.
• It empowers the government to take necessary measures for the preservation and protection of the environment, including setting standards for emissions and discharges of pollutants.

Additional Information

• Bhopal Disaster
  • The Bhopal Gas Tragedy occurred on the night of December 2-3, 1984, at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
  • A leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other chemicals resulted in the immediate death of thousands of people and caused long-term health issues for over half a million survivors.
  • The disaster highlighted severe safety lapses and inadequate emergency response measures, leading to the establishment of stricter environmental and industrial safety regulations.
  • The aftermath of the tragedy led to the establishment of the Environment Protection Act, 1986, which provides a comprehensive framework for environmental governance in India.
• Environment Protection Act, 1986
  • The Environment Protection Act, 1986 is an Act of the Parliament of India, enacted to protect and improve the environment.
  • The Act extends to the whole of India and came into force on November 19, 1986.
  • Under this Act, the central government has the authority to take all necessary measures for protecting and improving the quality of the environment.
  • The Act also lays down standards for emissions or discharge of environmental pollutants from various sources and restricts the carrying out of any industrial operation without proper environmental clearance.

The correct answer is - 1.5° C

Key Points

• Paris Agreement
  • The Paris Agreement is an international treaty on climate change adopted in 2015.
  • Its primary goal is to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.
  • To achieve this, countries aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible.
• Temperature Target
  • The specific temperature target of 1.5 degrees Celsius is crucial for minimizing the adverse impacts of climate change.
  • Scientific studies suggest that limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius can significantly reduce risks to ecosystems and human health.

Additional Information

• Mitigation and Adaptation
  • The Paris Agreement emphasizes both mitigation and adaptation strategies:
    • Mitigation involves efforts to reduce or prevent the emission of greenhouse gases.
    • Adaptation involves making adjustments in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities.
• Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
  • Under the Paris Agreement, each country must outline and communicate their post-2020 climate actions, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
  • NDCs represent efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
  • Countries are required to update and enhance their NDCs every five years.
• Global Stocktake
  • The Paris Agreement includes a process known as the Global Stocktake, which assesses the collective progress towards achieving the purpose of the Agreement and its long-term goals.
  • This process occurs every five years, starting in 2023.

The correct answer is - Reducing global CO₂ emissions

Key Points

• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD):
  • The CBD is an international treaty adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, focusing on the conservation of biological diversity.
  • It is part of global efforts to ensure sustainable development and address biodiversity loss.
• Primary Objectives:
  • Conservation of Biological Diversity: The CBD aims to conserve the vast variety of life on Earth, including ecosystems, species, and genetic resources.
  • Sustainable Use of Its Components: The treaty promotes the sustainable use of biodiversity components to ensure that natural resources are used in a way that does not lead to long-term decline.
  • Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits: It aims to ensure that the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources are shared fairly and equitably, especially between developed and developing countries.

Additional Information

• Reducing Global CO₂ Emissions:
  • While important for combating climate change, reducing global CO₂ emissions is not a specific objective of the CBD.
  • This objective is more closely aligned with the goals of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), another treaty that emerged from the Rio Earth Summit to address climate change issues.
• The CBD and UNFCCC both contribute to global environmental sustainability, but their primary objectives focus on different aspects—biodiversity conservation for the CBD and climate change mitigation for the UNFCCC.

The correct answer is - Wetlands

Key Points

• Ramsar Convention:
  • The Ramsar Convention, also known as the Convention on Wetlands, is an international treaty adopted in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar.
  • It aims at the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands through international cooperation.
• Purpose:
  • The primary objective of the Ramsar Convention is to halt the loss of wetlands and to conserve those that remain through wise use and management.
• Significance:
  • Wetlands are critical ecosystems that support biodiversity, provide water purification, flood protection, and contribute to climate regulation.
• Ramsar Sites:
  • Under the Convention, member countries designate suitable wetlands in their territory for inclusion in the list of "Wetlands of International Importance," known as Ramsar Sites.

Additional Information

• As of now, there are over 2,400 Ramsar Sites worldwide, covering more than 250 million hectares, contributing to global efforts in wetland conservation and sustainable use.
• Member countries are also required to report on the status of their Ramsar Sites and the progress made towards maintaining their ecological character.

Narmada Bachao Andolan:

• Medha Patkar is an Indian social activist known for her work with the displaced people and sufferers impacted by the Narmada Development project.
• She organized marches and civil protests against the Government for dismantling the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Southeastern Gujarat.
• She strived for rejuvenation of livelihood for the homeless people caused by the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Project.
• She succeeded in her endeavour when World Bank, the grant provider of the project withdrew from the project. 

Thus, Medha Patkar led the Narmada Bachao Andolan.

Sundarlal Bahuguna:

• Sunderlal Bahuguna was the prominent leader of the Chipko Andolan.
• The aim of the movement was to stop the uprooting of trees.
• Seeing the agitation and ecological sensitiveness of the issue orders were passed by the then Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi to ban tree felling for 15 years in the region.  

Rajiv Dixit:

• Rajiv Dixit was an Indian social activist.
• He was an ardent promoter of Swadeshi activism and was the national secretary of Bharat Swabhiman Trust. 
• Dixit founded the "Azadi Bachao Andolan" (Save Freedom Movement) in the early 1990s.
• It was a campaign to protect Indian industries, at a time when multi-national corporations were increasing their presence in India as a part of a trend towards globalisation.

Chandi Prasad Bhatt:

• Chandi Prasad Bhatt (born 1934) is an Indian Gandhian environmentalist and social activist.
• He founded Dasholi Gram Swarajya Sangh (DGSS) in Gopeshwar in 1964.
• This Sangh later became a mother organization to the Chipko Movement.
• He was one of the pioneers, and for which he has been awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 1982, followed by the Padma Bhushan in 2005.

The correct answer is Green Good Deeds.

Key Points

• Green Good Deeds is the name of the Societal movement launched by the Union Minister of Environment, forest, and climate change.
• Green Good Deeds movement was launched to protect the environment and promote good living in the country, has found acceptance by the global community.
• The 'Green Good Deeds' initiative is about simple, practical steps that students/teachers/citizens can perform in their day-to-day life towards the protection of the environment.
• The BRICS Ministerial on Environment was also agreed to include this movement in its official agenda.

Additional Information

• About BRICS:
  • Founded: June 2006
  • Countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa.
  • Headquarters - Shanghai, China.

Option 4  is the correct answer: the Kyoto Protocol came into force in 2005.

• Kyoto Protocol is a mechanism which set limits for the industrialised nations to reduce the greenhouse gases emissions as aimed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• It was adopted in 1997 but did not come into force as the process required ratification by 55% member states.
• After the ratification by Russia in 2004, it came into force in 2005.
• The flexible market mechanism of the Kyoto protocol talks about the trading of emission permits
• It laid three mechanisms by which countries can reduce their emissions:
  • Joint Implementation.
  • The Clean Development Mechanism.
  • Emission Trading.

The correct answer is Montreal Protocol.Key Points

• The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty signed in 1987 to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances (ODS).
• Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) compounds are one of the most common ODS and were widely used in refrigeration, air conditioning, and aerosol sprays.
• The treaty was successful in reducing the production and consumption of ODS, and as a result, the ozone layer is gradually recovering.

Additional Information

• The Vienna Convention is an international treaty signed in 1985 to protect the ozone layer.
• An international agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions is known as the Kyoto Protocol.
  • The six greenhouse gases covered by the Kyoto Protocol are sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, methane, and carbon dioxide. 
• An worldwide agreement on climate change is known as the Paris Agreement.
  • The agreement, which was adopted in 2015, addresses financing, adaptation, and mitigation of climate change.

The correct answer is Kyoto Protocol.

Key Points

• The Kyoto Protocol puts the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change into action by committing developed and developing countries to restrict and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in accordance with agreed-upon individual targets.
• On December 11, 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was signed at the third session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 3) in Kyoto, Japan.
• It took effect on February 16, 2005, after a lengthy ratification procedure.
• The Kyoto Protocol now has 192 parties.
• The Kyoto Protocol's main characteristic is that it establishes binding objectives for decreasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for 37 industrialised countries and the European Union.
• Over the five-year period 2008-2012, these increased by an average of 5% compared to 1990 levels.
• The targets cover emissions of the six main greenhouse gases:
  • Carbon dioxide (CO₂);
  • Methane (CH₄);
  • Nitrous oxide (N₂O);
  • Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs);
  • Perfluorocarbons (PFCs); and
  • Sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆)

Additional Information

• The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion. It was agreed on 16 September 1987 and entered into force on 1 January 1989.
• The 1925 Geneva Protocol prohibits the use of chemical and biological weapons in war. The Protocol was drawn up and signed at a conference which was held in Geneva under the auspices of the League of Nations from 4 May to 17 June 1925, and it entered into force on 8 February 1928.
• The Bonn Agreement (officially the Agreement on Provisional Arrangements in Afghanistan Pending the Re-Establishment of Permanent Government Institutions) was the initial series of agreements passed on December 5, 2001 and intended to re-create the Islamic State of Afghanistan following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. 

The correct answer is Perfluorocarbons.

Key Points

• The Kyoto Protocol regulates six greenhouse gases released through human activities:
  • Carbon dioxide (CO2)
  • Methane (CH4)
  • Nitrous oxide (N2O)
  • Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
  • Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
  • Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)
• Hence Perfluorocarbons is one of the six pollutants under Kyoto Protocol regulations.

Additional Information

• Kyoto Protocol:
  • It is an international agreement that aims to manage and reduce carbon dioxide emissions and greenhouse gases. 
  • Kyoto Protocol is an agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, adopted in December 1997.
  • It is a legally binding treaty to reduce greenhouse emissions.
  • The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997 and entered into force in February 2005.
  • India signed the Kyoto Protocol on 26 August 2002
  • India ratified Kyoto Protocol in 2002.
  • The Kyoto Protocol came into force in February 2005.

The correct answer is Cabinet approval.

Key Points

• According to the working rules, all international agreements and treaties (except those specifically specified) are required a Cabinet approval before signing and ratification. 
• All International agreements and treaties come under the Ministry of External Affairs.
• A treaty is an agreement between sovereign states (countries) and in some cases international organizations, which is binding at international law.
• When a cabinet Minister of External Affairs signed the ratification then only it can be treated as passed.

Additional Information

• Minister of External Affairs - Jai Shankar Prasad
• Foreign Secretary of India - Harsh Vardhan Shringla
• Term of Foreign Secretary of India is 2 Years.
• Cabinet Minister is a group of Number 1 rank Minister. It is the highest decision-making body.
• Cabinet Ministers have a portfolio like Finance, Defence, Home Affairs, etc.

Important Points

Hence, the correct matching is A - IV, B - III, C - II, D - I.

The conference is a formal meeting of people to discuss a particular topic of common interest within the company, institutions, states, and countries.

Summit is a pre-scheduled meeting of heads of state or government from different countries with a prearranged agenda.

The United Nations holds meetings of such scale on a time to time basis to combat various issues like Global Environmental and Socio-economic.

Few such important Conferences are-

The correct answer is 6.

Key Points

• Kyoto Protocol:-
  • The target for the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol is to reduce emissions of 6 greenhouse gases by 5.2% from 1990 levels.
  • This reduction applies to carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).

Key PointsMontreal Protocol:

• The Montreal Protocol is a global agreement to protect the stratospheric ozone layer by phasing out the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances (ODS).
• The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (the Montreal Protocol) is an international agreement made in 1987.
• It was designed to stop the production and import of ozone-depleting substances and reduce their concentration in the atmosphere to help protect the earth's ozone layer.

Paris Agreement:

• The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change.
• It was adopted on 12 December 2015 and entered into force on 4 November 2016.
• 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.
• The Paris Agreement is a landmark in the multilateral climate change process because, for the first time, a binding agreement brings all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects.

Climate Action Plan:

• A Climate Action Plan provides evidenced-based measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and preventative measures to address the negative outcomes of climate change.
• The plan will demonstrate how the City will adapt and improve its resilience to climate hazards that impact the city today as well as risks that may increase in the coming years.

Kyoto Protocol:

• The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement that aimed to manage and reduce carbon dioxide emissions and greenhouse gases.
• The Protocol was adopted at a conference in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997 and became international law on February 16, 2005.

Therefore, the correct match is