UPSC Prelims 2025 CSAT Paper II · Q72 of 78 Comprehension medium

Passage

Directions for the following 4 (four) items : Read the following two passages and answer the items that follow the passages. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only. Passage – 1 Over the next 30 years, many countries are promising to move to net-zero carbon, implying that household emissions will have to be cut to close to nothing. A leading climate scientist reckons that, at best, half the reduction might be achieved through demand-side measures, such as behavioural changes by individuals and households. And even that would require companies and governments to provide more incentives to change through supply-side investments to make low-carbon options cheaper and more widely available.

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made : I. Supply-side investments in companies can result in low-carbon behaviour in people. II. People are not capable of adapting low-carbon behaviour without the involvement of Government and Companies. Which of the above assumptions is/are valid ?

  1. (a) I only ✓ UPSC's answer
  2. (b) II only
  3. (c) Both I and II
  4. (d) Neither I nor II

Why the answer is (a)

• The passage states that demand-side measures (behavioural changes) require companies and governments to provide incentives through supply-side investments to make low-carbon options cheaper and available.

• Assumption I is valid because the text explicitly links supply-side investments by companies to the feasibility of achieving behavioural changes, implying that such investments facilitate low-carbon behaviour.

• Assumption II is invalid because the passage states that 'at best, half the reduction might be achieved through demand-side measures,' which implies that individuals can and do contribute to reductions through their own behavioural changes, not that they are entirely incapable without external help.

• Therefore, only Assumption I is supported by the passage, making option (a) the correct answer.

Why the other options are wrong

(b) II only
Assumption II is invalid because the passage acknowledges that half the reduction can come from individual behavioural changes, meaning people are capable of adapting low-carbon behaviour to some extent without total dependence on government and companies.
(c) Both I and II
Assumption II is invalid because the passage does not state that people are incapable of adapting low-carbon behaviour without external involvement, but rather that supply-side support is needed to maximize the impact of demand-side measures.
(d) Neither I nor II
Assumption I is valid because the passage directly connects supply-side investments by companies to the provision of incentives and availability of low-carbon options that enable behavioural change.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2025, held on 25 May 2025. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

Reading the answer is not the same as getting it right under a clock. Practise this question with UPSC's negative marking, and anything you miss goes into an error notebook until you get it right twice.

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