Consider the following statements with reference to India's response to climate change:

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 (c) 2 and 3 (d) 3 only

Answer: (b) 1 and 2

Statement I is correct (LT-LEDS is India’s official long-term strategy for net-zero by 2070).

Statement II is correct (BUR-4, submitted 30 December 2024, recorded a 7.93% ≈ “around 8%” drop in GHG emissions in 2020 vs 2019).

Statement III is incorrect, in India’s context, which prioritises long-term, development-compatible pathways rather than necessarily rapid short-term absolute cuts. Statement II provides factual, observable, or data-based evidence that confirms or validates Statement I. Thus relationship 1 holds (II supplies empirical progress consistent with the long-term goal in I) and relationship 2 holds (III contradicts the long-horizon approach of I). Relationship 3 does not hold.

Proper nouns and their appearances

Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS)

• Official document submitted by India to the UNFCCC in November 2022. It explicitly charts low-carbon transitions toward net-zero by 2070 while emphasising equity, CBDR-RC and national circumstances.

• Repeatedly referenced in PIB releases on climate commitments, NITI Aayog reports (e.g., 2026 “Scenarios Towards Viksit Bharat and Net Zero”), and Ministry of Environment statements.

• Covered in The Hindu, Indian Express and other English dailies around COP27 (2022) and in subsequent analyses of India’s net-zero pathway (including 2025–2026 NITI modelling stories).

Net-zero emissions by 2070

• Announced by the Prime Minister at COP26 (2021) as part of the “Panchamrit” pledges; embedded in the updated NDC (2022) and LT-LEDS.

• Standard reference in PIB, MoEFCC and NITI Aayog documents; frequent in The Hindu / Indian Express climate and energy reporting from 2021 onward (including recent power-mix and financing analyses).

4th Biennial Update Report (BUR-4)

• Submitted to the UNFCCC on 30 December 2024; contains the national GHG inventory for 2020.

• Official PIB release (early January 2025, PRID 2089589 and related) states: India’s GHG emissions decreased by 7.93% in 2020 with respect to 2019 (net emissions 2,437 MtCO₂e including LULUCF). Also notes 36% reduction in emission intensity of GDP (2005–2020) and other progress metrics.

• Reported in environment portals and secondary coverage; parliamentary references (e.g., MoS statements) and exam/coaching analyses in 2025–2026. Mainstream English newspapers (The Hindu, Indian Express) carried the submission and key figures as part of climate-progress stories, though the densest official detail is in PIB/MoEFCC.

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions / 2020 vs 2019 figures

• Directly from the BUR-4 inventory and the corresponding PIB summaries. The “around 8%” phrasing is a common rounding of the official 7.93% figure.