Climate change, COP 22 - GS questions based on daily current affairs

ANSWER: Both a & b

Explanation:
The two major causes of global sea-level rise are thermal expansion caused by the warming of the oceans (since water expands as it warms) and the loss of land-based ice (such as glaciers and polar ice caps) due to increased melting.

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:

• Paris Agreement pertains to post-2020 climate actions. In the pre-2020 period, developed countries are to act as per Kyoto Protocol and some developing countries have taken voluntary pledges.
• The Union Cabinet has given its approval to ratify the Paris Agreement (on Climate Change) on 2nd October 2016, the day of Gandhi Jayanti.
• Paris Agreement was adopted by 185 nations last year on 12th December 2015 and India signed the Paris Agreement in New York early this year on 22nd April 2016.
• A total of 191 countries have signed to the Paris Agreement so far. As per the provisions of the Paris Agreement, the treaty will come into force as and when 55 countries contributing to 55 % of total global emission ratify the agreement.
• So far, 61 countries have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval accounting in total for 47.79% of the total global greenhouse gas emissions.
• India’s decision to ratify the agreement will take the number of cumulative level of emission of countries that have ratified the agreement so far to 51.89%.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
Following will be the key priorities:

• Enhancing Ambition and promoting action between 2016-2020 - Paris Agreement is for post-2020 period. Currently, we are operating under the pre-2020 action framework and must not wait any further to take action. The developed countries should ratify the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. At Morocco, we must agree to set up an action roadmap for 2016-2020 for raising ambition and achieving pre-2020 goals.
• Mobilising means of implementation i.e. finance, technology and capacity-building support before and after 2020 - USD 11 billion per year climate finance goal has not been met. At Morocco, India will insist for a concrete roadmap from developed countries. USD 10.3 billion committed to the Green Climate Fund does not match the enormous finance and technology requirements indicated by developing countries in their INDCs. The new Technology Framework under the Paris Agreement should help to remove barriers to technology access and provide finance for meeting higher technological costs.
• Furthering the cause of Adaption and loss and damage - India is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The first review of the loss and damage mechanism at COP 22 is an opportunity for India to ensure that this mechanism provides tangible and concrete solutions. Most important of these would be to ensure that there are tools to address adaptation, financial risk management and finance needs for dealing with extreme and slow onset events.

ANSWER: Marrakech

Explanation:

• The 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 22) to the UNFCCC is scheduled to take place from 7-18 November 2016.
• It will be held at Marrakesh, Marrakech, Morocco.
• During COP 22, parties will, inter alia, begin preparations for entry into force of the Paris Agreement.
• Marrakesh will also see the twelfth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 12).

ANSWER: Both

Explanation:
- Veerabhadran Ramanathan discovered that human-produced gases and pollutants other than CO2 have a huge power to alter the Earth's climate.
- By acting on them it is possible to make a short-term dent on the rate of global warming.
- Ramanathan found that one tonne of CFCs traps as much heat in the atmosphere as 10 tonnes of CO2.
- Scientists at the time believed carbon dioxide to be the only human-produced greenhouse gas.
- But after Ramanathan's work, it was revealed that other gases such as methane and HFCs were also potent greenhouse gases.

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:
- The First World Climate Conference was held in 1979 in Geneva and sponsored by the WMO. It was one of the first major international meetings on climate change.
- IPCC was first established in 1988 by two United Nations organizations, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:
- National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) was launched during February 2011 by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) with the funding from Ministry of Agriculture.
- Under the program manually operated weather station to record daily rainfall, minimum and maximum temperature, relative humidity and wind speed.
- The four modules of NICRA – natural resource management, improving soil health, crop production and livestock – is aimed making the farmers self-reliant.

ANSWER: Kyoto Protocol

Explanation:
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is one of the Flexible Mechanisms defined in the Kyoto Protocol (IPCC, 2007) that provides for emissions reduction projects which generate Certified Emission Reduction units which may be traded in emissions trading schemes.

ANSWER: Alps

Explanation:
- The whole area, including other glaciers is part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch Protected Area, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001.
- It is located in Switzerland.
- It is under threat from the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
- Aletsch Glacier could almost vanish by 2100 due to global warming

ANSWER: Only 1, 3, 4 and 5

Explanation:
There are Eight National Missions - National Solar Mission, National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency, National Mission on Sustainable Habitat, National Water Mission, National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem, National Mission for a "Green India", National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture, and National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change.