Passage

Passage-8 About 15 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions come from agricultural practices. This includes nitrous oxide from fertilizers; methane from livestock, rice production, and manure storage; and carbon dioxide (CO₂) from burning biomass, but this excludes CO₂ emissions from soil management practices, savannah burning and deforestation. Forestry, land use, and land-use change account for another 17 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions each year, three quarters of which come from tropical deforestation. The remainder is largely from draining and burning tropical peatland. About the same amount of carbon is stored in the world's peatlands as is stored in the Amazon rainforest.

Which among the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage ?

(a) Organic farming should immediately replace mechanised and chemical dependant agricultural practices all over the world
(b) It is imperative for us to modify our land use practices in order to mitigate climate change ✓ UPSC's answer
(c) There are no technological solutions to the problem of greenhouse gas emissions
(d) Tropical areas are the chief sites of carbon sequestration

Why the answer is (b)

• The passage attributes about 15% of global greenhouse emissions to agricultural practices and another 17% to forestry, land use and land-use change.

• Most of the latter comes from tropical deforestation, and the rest from draining and burning tropical peatland.

• Since about a third of emissions arise from how land is used, changing land-use practices is essential to mitigate climate change.

• The passage says nothing about replacing all farming with organic farming (a), rules out no technology (c), and does not call tropical areas the chief sites of carbon sequestration (d).

• Hence option (b).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) Organic farming should immediately replace mechanised and chemical dependant agricultural…: The passage does not advocate for the immediate replacement of mechanized farming with organic farming, nor does it claim organic farming is the only solution.
(c) There are no technological solutions to the problem of greenhouse gas emissions: The passage does not state that there are no technological solutions; it only identifies the sources of emissions.
(d) Tropical areas are the chief sites of carbon sequestration: The passage states that peatlands store as much carbon as the Amazon, but it does not claim tropical areas are the chief sites of carbon sequestration globally.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2016, held on 7 August 2016. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.