Previous year UPSC prelims questions – Carbon (Environment)

1. What is blue carbon? [UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2021 Prelims]

2. The ‘Common Carbon Metric’, supported by UNEP, had been developed for [UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2021 Prelims]

3. Which of the following statements best describes the term ‘Social Cost of Carbon’?

It is a measure, in monetary value, of the [UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2020 Prelims]

4. What is the use of biochar in farming?

1. Biochar can be used as a part of the growing medium in vertical farming.
2. When biochar is a part of the growing medium, it promotes the growth of nitrogen-fixing microorganisms.
3. When biochar is a part of the growing medium, it enables the growing medium to retain water for longer time.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2020 Prelims]

5. Which of the following statements best describes “carbon fertilization”?

[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2018 Prelims]

6. 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?

[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2017 Prelims]

7. In the context of mitigating the impending global warming due to anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide, which of the following can be the potential sites for carbon sequestration?

1. Abandoned and uneconomic coal seams
2. Depleted oil and gas reservoirs
3. Subterranean deep saline formations

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2017 Prelims]

8. ‘BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes’ is managed by the [UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2015 Prelims]

9. With reference to ‘Forest Carbon Partnership Facility’, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. It is a global partnership of governments, businesses, civil society and indigenous peoples.
2. It provides financial aid to universities, individual scientists and institutions involved in scientific forestry research to develop eco-friendly and climate adaptation technologies for sustainable forest management.
3. It assists the countries in their ‘REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation+)’ efforts by providing them with financial and technical assistance.

Select the correct answer using the code” given below.

[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2015 Prelims]

10. Which of the following adds/add carbon dioxide to the carbon cycle on the planet Earth?

1. Volcanic action
2. Respiration
3. Photosynthesis
4. Decay of organic matter

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2014 Prelims]

11. The increasing amount of carbon dioxide in the air is slowly raising the temperature of the atmosphere, because it absorbs

[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2012 Prelims]

12. What would happen if phytoplankton of an ocean is completely destroyed for some reason?

1. The ocean as a carbon sink would be adversely affected.
2. The food chains in the ocean would be adversely affected.
3. The density of ocean water would drastically decrease.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2012 Prelims]

13. Regarding “carbon credits”, which one of the following statements is not correct?

[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2011 Prelims]

14. Human activities in the recent past have caused the increased concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but a lot of it does not remain in the lower atmosphere because of

1. its escape into the outer stratosphere.
2. the photosynthesis by phytoplankton in the oceans
3. the trapping of air in the polar ice caps.

Which of the statements given above is/ are correct?

[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2011 Prelims]

15. Consider the following:

1. Photosynthesis
2. Respiration
3. Decay of organic matter
4. volcanic action

Which of the above add carbon dioxide to the carbon cycle on Earth?

[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2011 Prelims]