Consider the following statements with reference to India's response to climate change : I. India's Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS) is a crucial tool for achieving net-zero emissions by 2070. II. India's 4th Biennial Update Report (BUR-4) submitted in December, 2024 recorded around 8% decrease in Greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 over 2019. III. Climate-resilient development necessarily depends on quick and short-term achievement of emission reduction targets. Which of the following relationships among the above statements is/are correct ? 1. Statement I is empirically supported by statement II. 2. Statement III contradicts the approach implicit in statement I. 3. Statement I and statement III together establish the premise of long-term sustainability. Select the answer using the code given below :
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 1 and 2 ✓ UPSC's answer
- (c) 2 and 3
- (d) 3 only
Why the answer is (b)
• India's LT-LEDS, submitted at COP27 (2022), lays out the pathway to the net-zero-by-2070 pledge; India's 4th Biennial Update Report (Dec 2024) reported that 2020 emissions fell about 7.9% from 2019.
• Relationship 1 holds: the measured emission decline in BUR-4 is empirical evidence that the trajectory envisaged in the LT-LEDS is materialising, so statement II supports statement I.
• Relationship 2 holds: statement III insists on quick, short-term cuts, whereas the LT-LEDS is explicitly a long-horizon strategy; the two approaches conflict.
• Relationship 3 fails: a short-term-only view (III) cannot combine with a long-term strategy (I) to establish long-term sustainability; III undercuts rather than complements I.
• Hence 1 and 2 only, option (b).
Why the other options are wrong
- (a) 1 only
- Relationship 2 is also correct: statement III's short-termism contradicts the long-term LT-LEDS approach.
- (c) 2 and 3
- Relationship 3 is wrong: a short-term-only stance cannot establish long-term sustainability.
- (d) 3 only
- Relationship 3 is wrong and relationships 1 and 2 are correct.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2026, held on 24 May 2026. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.