Question map
Consider the following statements : 1. Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) to Reduce Short Lived Climate Pollutants is a unique initiative of G20 group of countries. 2. The CCAC focuses on methane, black carbon and hydrofluorocarbons. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
Explanation
The correct answer is option B (Statement 2 only).
**Statement 1 is incorrect:** The CCAC was launched in February 2012 by Canada, along with Bangladesh, Ghana, Mexico, Sweden, the U.S., and the United Nations Environment Programme[1], not as a G20 initiative. It is the first global effort to treat short-lived climate pollutants as an urgent and collective challenge[2], organized as a partnership open to various governments and organizations.
**Statement 2 is correct:** The CCAC aims to reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs), such as black carbon, methane, and hydrofluorocarbons[3]. The main short-lived climate pollutants are black carbon, methane, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and tropospheric ozone[4], and the Coalition focuses on addressing these pollutants that have significant climate warming effects but remain in the atmosphere for relatively short periods compared to CO2.
Therefore, only statement 2 is correct, making option B the right answer.
Sources- [1] https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/corporate/transparency/briefing/key-issues-climate-change.html
- [2] https://www.igsd.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Unpacking-the-Problem.pdf
- [3] https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/corporate/transparency/briefing/key-issues-climate-change.html
- [4] https://www.igsd.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Unpacking-the-Problem.pdf
PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
Guest previewThis is a classic 'Parent Body Swap' trap. UPSC tests international bodies by misattributing their founders (e.g., G20 vs UNEP). Statement 2 is a conceptual definition of SLCPs found in standard texts, while Statement 1 requires specific current affairs awareness of the organization's structure.
This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.
- Statement 1: Was the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) to Reduce ShortâLived Climate Pollutants created as a unique initiative of the G20 group of countries?
- Statement 2: Which shortâlived climate pollutants does the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) to Reduce ShortâLived Climate Pollutants focus on?
- Lists the founding partners and includes countries that are not G20 members (e.g., Bangladesh, Ghana), showing it was not a G20âonly initiative.
- Names the United Nations Environment Programme among founders, indicating an intergovernmental/UNâhosted launch rather than a G20âexclusive creation.
- Describes the CCAC as the "first global effort," emphasizing its global scope rather than a G20âspecific initiative.
- Frames the CCAC as addressing a collective, global challenge, which contradicts the idea of it being unique to the G20.
- States the CCAC is "organized as a partnership of governments, inter-governmental organizations and non-governmental organizations," indicating broad, multiâactor participation beyond G20.
- Notes the CCAC is hosted by UNEP, reinforcing its status as a UNâhosted/global coalition rather than a G20 creation.
Lists major international environmental agreements (Montreal, Kyoto, Paris) and shows such initiatives often arise from global UN/UNFCC processes or worldwide summits rather than a single club of countries.
A student could check whether CCAC is tied to UN/UNFCCC processes or to a G20 declaration â if CCAC is absent from UN-led lists, that would weigh against it being a unique G20 initiative.
Gives an explicit example (GCCA) of an environmental initiative created by a specific body (the European Commission), illustrating that such initiatives are commonly created by international organisations or unions, not necessarily by the G20.
Compare CCACâs founding documentation to see which organisation(s) announced or administer it (e.g., an international organisation vs. G20 communiquĂŠs).
Notes that special initiatives (e.g., 'Momentum for Change') have been launched under UNFCCC, indicating that many prominent climate initiatives originate from UNFCCC/COP processes.
Check COP/UNFCCC records to see if CCAC was launched there rather than within G20 fora.
Describes the Petersberg Climate Dialogue as a country-hosted forum (Germany) for climate initiatives, showing another pattern: initiatives can be hosted/chaired by individual countries or bilateral/multilateral dialogues rather than by the G20 as a group.
Inspect CCACâs launch event to see if it was associated with a country-hosted dialogue, a UN forum, or a G20 summit.
Explains that black carbon is a shortâlived climate pollutant with regional impacts, linking the topical focus (shortâlived pollutants) to initiatives specifically targeting such pollutants â implying CCACâs subject matter aligns with specialized coalitions rather than necessarily a G20-wide unique program.
Use this topical clue to search whether CCAC is described as a technical coalition focused on shortâlived pollutants and who the stated founders/partners were (UN bodies, individual countries, or G20).
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