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UPSC Prelims 2025 GS Paper 1, question 32

Topic: Environment and ecology

Q32

Consider the following statements :

Statement-I : At the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), India refrained from signing the ‘Declaration on Climate and Health’.

Statement-II : The COP28 Declaration on Climate and Health is a binding declaration; and if signed, it becomes mandatory to decarbonize health sector.

Statement-III : If India's health sector is decarbonized, the resilience of its health-care system may be compromised.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. (a) Both Statement-II and Statement-III are correct and both of them explain Statement-I
  2. (b) Both Statement-II and Statement-III are correct but only one of them explains Statement-I
  3. (c) Only one of the Statements II and III is correct and that explains Statement-ICorrect answer
  4. (d) Neither Statement-II nor Statement-III is correct

Solution.

Answer: (c) Only one of the Statements II and III is correct and that explains Statement-I

  1. Statement-I is correct: at COP28 in Dubai (December 2023), India did not sign the UAE Declaration on Climate and Health.
  2. Statement-II is incorrect: the COP28 Declaration on Climate and Health is a voluntary, non-binding political declaration and does not impose legally binding decarbonization mandates.
  3. Statement-III is correct and explains Statement-I: India refrained from signing because premature curbs on cooling and medical infrastructure emissions in a developing country could compromise the expansion and resilience of its public healthcare system.