RAS question
At COP30 in Belem, by how much did India reduce its GDP emission intensity between 2005 and 2020?
Correct answer: (B) 36%.
India reduced its emission intensity of GDP by 36% between 2005 and 2020, as stated at UNFCCC CoP30 in Belem.
Explanation
At the LeadIT Industry Leaders' Roundtable during UNFCCC CoP30 in Belem, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav framed India's climate record as a case of economic growth moving alongside lower emissions intensity. The PIB release says India had been successful in decoupling growth from emissions and then gives the exam-relevant figure: emission intensity of GDP fell by 36% between 2005 and 2020. This is why option B is right. The point is not an absolute cut in total emissions; it is a reduction in emissions per unit of GDP, which is the standard wording used in India's climate-policy statements.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 28% is too low because the PIB-backed statement fixes the reduction in emission intensity of GDP at 36% for 2005-2020.
- (C) 20% understates the reported reduction and does not match the figure India cited at CoP30.
- (D) 45% overstates the reported reduction; the cited PIB release gives 36%, not 45%.
Concept
This tests Environment and Ecology through a current climate-policy metric: emission intensity of GDP. It recurs in RAS because official climate statements often ask candidates to distinguish intensity reductions from absolute emissions cuts.