Environmental Studies · General Awareness

International Environmental Treaties

1,935 Questions

International environmental treaties are critical agreements governing global sustainability, waste management, and climate change protocols. These topics are essential components of the general awareness syllabus for UPSC, banking, and SSC exams. Practice these questions to master global conventions.

Paris and Kyoto protocolsOzone layer treatiesHazardous waste agreementsOuter space treatiesCSR sustainability reporting

International Environmental Treaties Questions

Multiple choice

Which of the following was the outcome of the United Nations Climate Conference held in Doha, Qatar in 2012?

  1. Coverage of close to 90% of the emission of greenhouse gases for binding cuts

  2. Inclusion of US and Canada in the list of countries agreeing to binding emission cuts

  3. Wide consensus among rich and poor countries on the issue of greenhouse gas emissions

  4. Extension till 2020 of the Kyoto Protocol for fighting climate change
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The 2012 Doha Climate Change Conference resulted in the 'Doha Amendment' to the Kyoto Protocol, which extended the commitment period until 2020.

Multiple choice

Kyoto Protocol was meant to ___________.

  1. save major rivers from pollution

  2. reduce emission of greenhouse gases

  3. decrease water pollution

  4. prevent pesticide over-application

  5. prevent acid rain
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Kyoto Protocol was meant to reduce emission of greenhouse gases.

Multiple choice

Regarding “Carbon credits”, which one of the following statements is not correct?

  1. The carbon credit system was ratified in conjuction with the Kyoto Protocol.

  2. Carbon credits are awarded to countries or groups that have reduced greenhouse gases below their emission quota.

  3. The goal of the carbon credit system is to limit the increase of carbondioxide emission.

  4. Carbon credits are traded at a price fixed from time to time by the United Nations Environment Programme.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

(i) A carbon credit is a generic term for any tradable certificate or permit representing the right to emit one ton of carbon or carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). The mechanism was formalised in the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement between more than 170 countries. (ii) The developed country would be given credits for meeting its emission reduction targets, while the developing country would receive the capital investment and clean technology or beneficial change in land use. (iii) This carbon credit system is to limit the emission of carbon dioxide. (iv) There are many companies that sell carbon credits to commercial and individual customers who are interested in lowering their carbon footprint on a voluntary basis.

Multiple choice

The “New Start” treaty was in the news. What is this treaty?

  1. It is a bilateral strategic nuclear arms reduction treaty between the USA and the Russian Federation.

  2. It is a multilateral energy security cooperation treaty among the members of the East Asia Summit.

  3. It is a treaty between the Russian Federation and the European Union for the energy security cooperation.

  4. It is multilateral cooperation treaty among the BRICS countries for the promotioin of trade.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

New START (for Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) is a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation with the formal name of Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. It was signed on 8 April, 2010 in Prague, and, after ratification, entered into force on 5 February, 2011. It is expected to last at least until 2021.

Multiple choice

Which of the following options best corrects / completes statement III?

Directions: This passage contains errors and an omission. Choose the correct option to complete the passage.

Delegates since almost 200 countries have extended the Kyoto Protocol.               statement I

The document, adopted in 1997, were due to expire by the end of the year.           statement II

The meeting had to be extended as nations faced off on several points, including

the kyoto deal, finance, and compensation for climate damage.                              statement III

The President of the Doha Climate Conference said, ___________________           statement IV 

  1. Comma required after ‘extended’

  2. Capital letter required for ‘nations’

  3. Comma not required after ‘finance’

  4. Capital letter required to begin ‘kyoto’

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

’Kyoto’ is a noun. Therefore, it will start with a capital letter.

Multiple choice

Which of the following options best corrects / completes statement I?

Directions: This passage contains errors and an omission. Choose the correct option to complete the passage.

Delegates since almost 200 countries have extended the Kyoto Protocol.               statement I

The document, adopted in 1997, were due to expire by the end of the year.           statement II

The meeting had to be extended as nations faced off on several points, including

the kyoto deal, finance, and compensation for climate damage.                              statement III

The President of the Doha Climate Conference said, ___________________           statement IV 

  1. in

  2. on

  3. from

  4. for
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

‘From’ should be used in the place of since. Since tells about some time span whereas in the sentence, we are talking about belongingness. Therefore, delegates from 200 countries…

Multiple choice

Which of the following options best corrects / completes statement IV?

Directions: This passage contains errors and an omission. Choose the correct option to complete the passage.

Delegates since almost 200 countries have extended the Kyoto Protocol.               statement I

The document, adopted in 1997, were due to expire by the end of the year.           statement II

The meeting had to be extended as nations faced off on several points, including

the kyoto deal, finance, and compensation for climate damage.                              statement III

The President of the Doha Climate Conference said, ___________________           statement IV 

  1. “that the deal would help to combat Global Warming.”

  2. “The deal would help to combat global warming.”

  3. “The Deal would help combating global warming.”

  4. The deal would help combating global warming.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Direct speech should be quoted within double quotes and should start with capital letter.

Multiple choice

Which of the following options best corrects / completes statement II?

Directions: This passage contains errors and an omission. Choose the correct option to complete the passage.

Delegates since almost 200 countries have extended the Kyoto Protocol.               statement I

The document, adopted in 1997, were due to expire by the end of the year.           statement II

The meeting had to be extended as nations faced off on several points, including

the kyoto deal, finance, and compensation for climate damage.                              statement III

The President of the Doha Climate Conference said, ___________________           statement IV 

  1. has been

  2. are

  3. is

  4. was
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

'The document' is singular and therefore, was will be used with it. Hence, replace were with was.

Multiple choice

Minsk Protocol refers to

  1. ceasefire agreement

  2. industrialisation treaty

  3. nuclear agreement

  4. online data protection protocol
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Representatives of Ukraine, the Russian Federation, the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), and the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) signed the Minsk Protocol, an agreement to halt the war in Donbass region of Ukraine, on 5th September 2014. 

Multiple choice

Global Atmosphere Watch is a global atmosphere monitoring system established by

  1. United Nations Environment Programme

  2. World Meteorological Organization

  3. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) is a worldwide system established by the World Meteorological Organization, a United Nations agency that monitors trends in the Earth's atmosphere. It arose out of concerns for the state of the atmosphere in the 1960s.

Multiple choice international conservation organizations- cites biodiversity, classification and conservation biology

Aichi Target is the outcome of which among the following protocols / summits?

  1. Kyoto Protocol

  2. Nagoya Protocol

  3. Copenhagen Climate Summit

  4. Bali Communique
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The Aichi Biodiversity Targets were adopted during the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 10) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, held in Nagoya, Japan.

Multiple choice international conservation organizations- cites biodiversity, classification and conservation biology

The Washington Convention whose formal name is abbreviated as CITES is related to which among the following?

  1. Pesticides

  2. Ozone Depletion

  3. Endangered Species

  4. Human Rights
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

CITES is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. It regulates the trade of endangered species to prevent over-exploitation.

Multiple choice geography environmental changes atmosphere as a green house global warming and climate change energy from the sun

Montreal Protocol is related to which of the following?

  1. Global Warming

  2. Deforestation

  3. Ozone layer depletion

  4. Sustainable development
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Ozone layer depletion,

Montreal Protocol, formally Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer, international treaty, adopted in Montreal on Sept. 16, 1987, that aimed to regulate the production and use of chemicals that contribute to the depletion of Earth’s ozone layer. Initially signed by 46 countries, the treaty now has nearly 200 signatories.

In the early 1970s, American chemists F. Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina theorized that chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) compounds combine with solar radiation and decompose in the stratosphere, releasing atoms of chlorine and chlorine monoxide that are individually able to destroy large numbers of ozone molecules. (Along with Dutch chemist Paul Crutzen, Rowland and Molina were awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for this work.) Their research, first published in the journal Nature in 1974, initiated a federal investigation of the problem in the United States, and the National Academy of Sciences concurred with their findings in 1976. In 1978 CFC-based aerosols were banned in the United States, Norway, Sweden, and Canada.

Further validation of their work came in 1985 with the discovery of a “hole” in the ozone shield over Antarctica by the British Antarctic Survey and the publication of its findings in Nature. Shortly before these findings were to appear, representatives from 28 countries met to discuss the issue at the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer. The meeting called for international cooperation in research involving ozone-depleting chemicals (ODCs) and empowered the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to lay the groundwork for the Montreal Protocol.

The initial agreement was designed to reduce the production and consumption of several types of CFCs and halons to 80 percent of 1986 levels by 1994 and 50 percent of 1986 levels by 1999. The protocol went into effect on Jan. 1, 1989. Since then the agreement has been amended to further reduce and completely phase out CFCs and halons, as well as the manufacture and use of carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethane, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), hydrobromofluorocarbons (HBFCs), methyl bromide, and other ODCs. Several subsequent meetings of the signing countries were convened to track overall progress toward this goal and to authorize new changes to the process of phasing out ODCs.