UPSC Prelims 2016 · Question 55 of 98

UPSC Prelims 2016 question on Annex I Cer Cdm Origins

Consider the following pairs:

Terms sometimes seen in the news — Their origin

1. Annex-I Countries : Cartagena Protocol
2. Certified Emissions Reductions : Nagoya Protocol
3. Clean Development Mechanisms : Kyoto Protocol

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer

Answer: C. 3 only

Verdict

The answer is 3 only. Clean Development Mechanism belongs to the Kyoto Protocol, but the other two pairings are wrong.

Analysis

Pair 3 is CORRECT. The Clean Development Mechanism, defined in Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol, allows a country with an emission reduction commitment to implement a project in a developing country and earn certified emission reduction credits. Pair 2 is INCORRECT for the same reason: Certified Emissions Reductions are the credits generated by that Kyoto mechanism, not a product of the Nagoya Protocol, which concerns access to genetic resources and benefit sharing. Pair 1 is INCORRECT. Annex-I countries are a category under the climate convention and Kyoto Protocol, not the Cartagena Protocol, which deals with biosafety and living modified organisms.

Source

Economic Survey 2015-16 and UNFCCC material on the Clean Development Mechanism.

How to crack it

All three terms in fact belong to the climate regime, and the question works by scattering two of them across biodiversity protocols. Build the parent tree once: Kyoto and Paris under the climate convention, Cartagena and Nagoya under the biodiversity convention. Then ask whether each term's subject matter is emissions or genetic resources, and misfiled terms identify themselves without any recall of the protocols.

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