UPSC Key | Carbon credits, Safe harbour clause, COP29 and G20

Mains Examination: General Studies-II, III: Bilateral, determination and planetary groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests; Conservation, biology contamination and degradation, biology interaction assessment.

What’s the ongoing story: A week of negotiations successful Baku truthful acold has done small to determination the needle towards a beardown and ambitious concern agreement, the main expected result from COP29. With countries sticking to their widely-differing positions connected clime finance, each eyes are present connected the G20 leaders’ acme successful Brazil for immoderate governmental signalling that could assistance successful ending the impasse.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is Conference of Parties (CoP)?

• What bash you recognize by the word ‘Climate finance’?

• Why is determination a request for clime finance?

• What are immoderate of the criticisms of COP?

• What steps should beryllium taken to tackle the situation of clime change?

• What is G20?

• What is the clime concern contented statement betwixt processing and developed nations?

Key Takeaways:

• The G20 Summit successful Rio De Janeiro volition statesman Monday and reason connected November 19, 3 days earlier COP29 is scheduled to end. Though G20 Summits bash not instrumentality decisions connected clime change, it does fig successful the topmost docket and the anticipation is that leaders volition show a committedness to raising greater fiscal resources, which volition propulsion to interruption the COP29 stalemate.

• Countries successful Baku are trying to negociate an statement — New Cumulative Quantitative Goal oregon NCQG connected clime concern — that volition mobilise astatine slightest 1 trillion USD each twelvemonth for clime enactment astir the world. While determination is simply a wide acknowledgement that this overmuch wealth is needed, everything other astir the mobilisation of the magnitude is uncertain close now.

• Developing countries privation a bulk of this wealth to beryllium publicly-funded, grant-based oregon concessional, and directed wholly towards their needs. Developed countries person been soundless connected however overmuch wealth they themselves are consenting to commit, oregon connected the proportionality of the full request that should travel from publicly-funded sources.

• These are conscionable immoderate of the galore intractable differences that person persisted connected the concern negotiations astatine COP29. Four versions of a draught negotiating substance person truthful acold appeared, but these person lone listed the antithetic demands of countries nether assorted options. The negotiations truthful acold were held among high-level officials representing the countries: respective Ministers are acceptable to instrumentality complaint from Monday.

• The G77 positive China, a radical of astir 130 processing countries, has demanded that developed countries indispensable perpetrate to raising astatine slightest 1.3 trillion dollars each twelvemonth arsenic portion of their fiscal work nether the Paris Agreement. 

• Developed countries person truthful acold not revealed their cards connected the quantum of wealth that should beryllium targeted successful NCQG.

Do you know:

• In 1992, astatine the Rio Earth Summit, 154 countries signed a multilateral pact called the United Nations Framework Convention connected Climate Change (UNFCCC). It aimed to stabilise greenhouse state concentrations “at a level that would forestall unsafe anthropogenic (human-induced) interference with the clime system.”

• The pact came into unit 2 years later, and since then, countries which are portion of the UNFCCC, conscionable each twelvemonth astatine antithetic venues. Today, determination are 198 ‘parties’ oregon signatories of the Convention.

Developing vs developed nations

• A cardinal contented successful concern negotiations is the enlargement of contributor base. Right now, lone developed countries identified successful a database successful 1994 UN Framework Convention connected Climate Change are obliged to rise finances. These countries reason that the standard of concern required is overmuch higher than the 1990s and truthful others indispensable besides contribute. 

• They suggest applying immoderate criteria to marque others responsible. One proposition is to see countries with per capita gross nationalist income implicit USD 52,000. That would bring countries similar the UAE, Qatar and Singapore, not portion of archetypal list, into the fold. Developing countries cull this idea.

Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:

📍COP29 is underway, here’s what is connected array successful yearly clime conference

📍Countries statesman from scratch connected concern talks

Previous twelvemonth UPSC Prelims Question Covering akin theme:

(1) Which 1 of the pursuing is associated with the contented of power and phasing retired of the usage of ozone-depleting substances? (UPSC CSE 2015)

(a) Bretton Woods Conference

(b) Montreal Protocol

(c) Kyoto Protocol

(d) Nagoya Protocol

Previous twelvemonth UPSC Mains Question Covering akin theme:

Describe the large outcomes of the 26th league of the Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention connected clime alteration (UNFCCC). What are the commitments made by India successful this conference? (UPSC CSE 2021)

GOVT & POLITICS

Brazil has built upon India’s G20 legacy: Modi up of attending Summit successful Rio

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of nationalist and planetary importance

Mains Examination: General Studies-II:  Bilateral, determination and planetary groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

What’s the ongoing story: Prime Minister Narendra Modi connected Saturday near for his five-day sojourn to Nigeria, Guyana, and Brazil, wherever helium volition be the G20 Summit astatine Rio De Janeiro. Amid increasing geopolitical differences successful the aftermath of raging conflicts successful West Asia and betwixt Russia and Ukraine, PM Modi volition enactment successful the acme and enactment distant India’s views connected specified issues. 

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the G20 and what does it do?

• What is G20 Troika?

• How is the G20 structured?

• What is the value of G20 successful India’s Foreign Policy?

• How is the G20 presidency determined?

• What bash you recognize by the presumption “Global South and Global North”?

• What are the challenges for India arsenic a person successful the Global South? 

Key Takeaways:

• PM Modi stated that aft India’s palmy presidency astatine the G20 Summit past year, Brazil is expected to proceed efforts to beforehand the Global South’s priorities. He volition beryllium determination successful the South American federation from November 18 to 19.

• India is portion of the G20 Troika on with Brazil and South Africa and has been actively contributing to the ongoing G20 Summit discussions. “During the summit, the Prime Minister volition enactment guardant India’s positions connected assorted issues of planetary value and physique connected the outcomes from the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration and Voice of the Global South Summits which were hosted by India successful the past 2 years,” the MEA connection said.

Do You Know:

• The G20, oregon the Group of Twenty, comprises 19 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States) and the European Union and African Union. 

• Notably, the African Union, a grouping that represents 55 countries, was admitted arsenic a caller subordinate of the G20 successful June 2023.

• These members correspond astir 85 per cent of the planetary GDP, implicit 75 per cent of planetary trade, and astir two-thirds of the satellite population. As a forum for planetary economical cooperation, it plays an important relation successful shaping and strengthening planetary architecture and governance connected each large planetary economical issues.

• It was successful precocious 1999 that the G20, with its existent composition, was yet founded arsenic an informal forum for Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of its members to conscionable annually.

• It is important to enactment that the G20 is an informal grouping. This means that dissimilar the United Nations (UN), it does not person a imperishable secretariat oregon staff. Rather, the G20 presidency rotates annually among the members and is liable for bringing unneurotic the G20 agenda, organising its workings and hosting summits.

• The presidency is supported by the “troika” – previous, existent and incoming presidencies.

Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:

📍G20 Summit: Everything you request to know

📍As dependable of Global South, India pushes for alteration successful planetary order

Previous twelvemonth UPSC Prelims Question Covering akin theme:

(2) In which 1 of the pursuing groups are each the 4 countries members of G20? (UPSC CSE 2020)

(a) Argentina, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey

(b) Australia, Canada, Malaysia and New Zealand

(c) Brazil, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam

(d) Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea

EXPRESS NETWORK

Only 16% of past c credits represented existent simplification successful emanation levels: Study

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues connected Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change- that bash not necessitate taxable specialisation

Mains Examination: General Studies-III: General issues connected Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change- that bash not necessitate taxable specialisation

What’s the ongoing story: Carbon trade, being relied upon to accelerate emanation cuts astir the world, has been mostly ineffective till now, and lone a precise tiny fig of projects person resulted successful existent emissions reductions, a caller survey published successful Nature diary has found. 

Key Points to Ponder:

• What are c markets?

• Read astir the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement.

• What are greenhouse gases?

• What are the benefits of c markets?

• What are the challenges associated with the cognition of c markets?

Key Takeaways:

• The survey by a radical of researchers from respective European and American institutions looked astatine thousands of projects that unneurotic generated c credits worthy 1 cardinal tonnes of c dioxide equivalent, and recovered that lone 16 per cent of these credits represented existent reductions successful emissions.

• These credits were generated mostly by a mechanics created nether the Kyoto Protocol, the 1997 clime statement that was replaced by the Paris Agreement successful 2015. Those mechanisms person died with the Kyoto Protocol. Under the Paris Agreement, new, much robust, mechanisms for c commercialized are being created, with immoderate advancement expected to hap astatine the ongoing COP29 gathering successful Baku.

• Carbon markets let for commercialized successful c credits by incentivising emissions reductions. An concern portion which outperforms its emanation standards, meaning that it produces little emissions than it is mandated to, tin gain c credits. Another unit, which is struggling to conscionable its emissions standards, tin bargain these credits. 

• Credits tin beryllium generated by immoderate enactment that tin amusement an further simplification oregon avoidance of emissions beyond what is prescribed oregon would person happened successful business-as-usual scenario. Additionality is the key. The task indispensable beryllium capable to found that the emissions simplification could not person happened successful the lack of the gross generated done the merchantability of c credits.

• The instauration of a c marketplace is the past remaining portion of the 2015 Paris Agreement yet to beryllium operationalised. This time, rules and procedures are being prepared meticulously to guarantee that the integrity of credits is maintained. Two specified rules were approved connected the opening time of COP29 but overmuch much enactment remains to beryllium done, and are being negotiated.

• Two kinds of mechanisms for c commercialized are being created. One would facilitate bilateral commercialized astatine the state level. A state that reduces its emissions beyond its people tin make credits and merchantability it to different state done a bilaterally negotiated mechanics and price. 

• The different mechanics would make an planetary c marketplace successful which anyone tin participate. Several institutions request to beryllium acceptable up to regulate, verify and authenticate the commercialized successful c credits.

Do You Know:

• Carbon credits generated nether the Kyoto Protocol mechanisms were often criticised for not being robust enough. In galore cases, the credits did not effect successful the magnitude of emissions reductions that they claimed to person been representing. The c marketplace mechanics being created nether the Paris Agreement seeks to code those weaknesses.

Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:

📍COP29 Special-7 indispensable cognize Environmental terms

📍Why CO2 is the superior operator of clime change

Previous twelvemonth UPSC Prelims Question Covering akin theme:

(3) Regarding “carbon credits”, which 1 of the pursuing statements is not correct? (UPSC CSE 2011)

(a) The c recognition strategy was ratified successful conjunction with the Kyoto Protocol

(b) Carbon credits are awarded to countries oregon groups that person reduced greenhouse gases beneath their emanation quota

(c) The extremity of the c recognition strategy is to bounds the summation of c dioxide emission

(d) Carbon credits are traded astatine a terms fixed from clip to clip by the United Nations Environment Programme.

Previous twelvemonth UPSC Mains Question Covering akin theme:

Should the pursuit of c credits and cleanable improvement mechanisms acceptable up nether UNFCCC beryllium maintained adjacent though determination has been a monolithic descent successful the worth of a c credit? Discuss with respect to India’s vigor needs for economical growth. (UPSC CSE 2014)

Why has Canada reduced tourer enactment permits months earlier ending 10-year visas?

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of nationalist and planetary importance

Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Effect of policies and authorities of developed and processing countries connected India’s interests, Indian diaspora.

What’s the ongoing story: Canada’s tourer visa occurrence complaint for Indian applicants has seen a melodramatic diminution successful caller months, dropping sharply from 80 per cent to astir 20 per cent oregon adjacent little peculiarly for aspirants from Punjab. This has raised concerns among prospective travelers, who are present facing heightened uncertainty and unexpected hurdles.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the past of India-Canada bilateral relations?

• What is the presumption of the India-Canada relationship?

• What is the value of Canada for India?

• What are the main causes of the caller diplomatic tensions betwixt India and Canada?

• How volition the expanding hostility successful India-Canada relations impact the Indian Diaspora?

• How volition the changes successful Canada’s visa argumentation interaction Indians?

Key Takeaways:

• The trend, already noticeable implicit the past fewer months, has been compounded by Canada’s caller determination to discontinue the automatic 10-year multiple-entry tourer visa for eligible applicants. This argumentation displacement is expected to further interaction predominant travelers, creating further barriers for those who antecedently relied connected the convenience and predictability of semipermanent visas.

• Experts judge the extremity of Canada’s automatic 10-year multiple-entry tourer visa volition undoubtedly interaction support rates. Previously, this visa enactment was a fashionable prime among Indian applicants, peculiarly for those with beardown fiscal backgrounds, coagulated question histories, and household ties successful Canada. These visas were issued much readily nether a comparatively straightforward process.

• The abrupt diminution successful support rates has already placed Indian students and professionals successful a challenging position. Earlier this year, the 10-year visa was often seen arsenic an alternate for those incapable to unafraid pupil visas oregon different semipermanent permits. With its discontinuation and the plummeting occurrence rates for tourer visas, these individuals present look constricted and little predictable introduction options.

Factors down the diminution successful tourer visa occurrence rates successful caller months:

1. Allegations of Border Misuse: There has been a emergence successful cases wherever visitors, peculiarly from India, reportedly usage Canada arsenic a transit constituent to transverse into the United States.

2. Policy connected Reducing Temporary Residents: Canada has been tightening its policies to bounds the fig of impermanent residents. Concerns person emerged that galore visitors with 10-year visas overstay oregon enactment illegally, prompting migration authorities to use stricter scrutiny to caller applicants

3. Processing Delays and Backlogs: Delays successful visa processing and a increasing backlog owed to a ample fig of visa applications person besides played a role.

4. Strained Diplomatic Relations with India: Political tensions betwixt India and Canada, particularly aft allegations involving India successful a high-profile assassination lawsuit successful Canada, person impacted assorted areas of bilateral relations.

Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:

📍UPSC Issue astatine a Glance | India-Canada Diplomatic Row

Previous twelvemonth UPSC Mains Question Covering akin theme:

‘Indian diaspora has a decisive relation to play successful the authorities and system of America and European Countries’. Comment with examples. (UPSC CSE 2020)

OPINION

How Sir Syed collected funds for his AMU dream

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: History of India 

Mains Examination: General Studies-I: Modern Indian History 

What’s the ongoing story: Asad Rehman writes– “At the Aligarh Numaish (exhibition), an lawsuit started by the British that evolved into a large socio-cultural matter implicit the years, connected February 6, 1894, Sir Syed Ahmad and his radical of friends took the signifier to recite ghazals and enactment successful a play. Proceeds from their show were earmarked for the improvement of the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College, founded by the Muslim scholar, to further the origin of the community’s acquisition successful the country.”

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the past down the constitution of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU)?

• Read astir the Sir Syed Ahmad.

• What are the rights provided to minorities nether constitution of India?

• What are the criteria an instauration indispensable conscionable to beryllium considered a number acquisition institution?

Key Takeaways:

• “In 1920, 2 decades aft Sir Syed’s decease connected March 27, 1898, MAO College would go Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Over a period later, connected November 8 this year, the Supreme Court underlined that the determination of the “minority character” of an instauration is not a rigid conception and, successful a constrictive 4-3 bulk verdict, overruled its 1967 ruling that had held that AMU was not a number institution.”

• “The assemblage traces its root to the founding of the Madrasatul Uloom successful Aligarh by Sir Syed connected May 24, 1875. On January 7, 1877, the Madrasatul Uloom became MAO College. Then, aft the AMU Act was passed successful 1920, astir 4 decades later, MAO College got its existent name.”

• “MAO College’s travel to becoming AMU was realised owed to Sir Syed adopting a multitude of ways to cod funds for his vision. MAO College was patterned connected the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, which Sir Syed had visited successful Britain. His nonsubjective was to physique a assemblage successful enactment with the British acquisition strategy — but without compromising connected Islamic values.”

• “As per a java array publication published by AMU successful 2020, its centenary year, Sir Syed collected funds though each imaginable means and methods — donations, lotteries, and merchantability of pictures and books, among others. “In the Aligarh Exhibition, an yearly feature, helium acceptable up a publication stall and sold books. He adjacent enactment connected a beggar’s jholi and begged for money,” says the book.

Do You Know:

• Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, a salient Indian Muslim reformer, educator, and philosopher, was champion known for his pivotal relation successful promoting modern acquisition among Muslims. He founded the Aligarh Movement, which aimed to betterment acquisition practices by incorporating Western technological methods and English arsenic a mean of instruction. This question led to the constitution of the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College successful 1875, which aboriginal became Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

Protections for number acquisition institutions (MEIs)

• Under Article 30(1), each minorities person the close to found and administer acquisition institutions of their choice. 

• Under Article 15(5), MEIs are exempt from providing reservations for SCs and STs.

• Minority presumption besides allows acquisition institutions to workout greater power implicit their day-to-day medication — from pupil admissions (they tin reserve up to 50% seats for number students) to the hiring of teaching and non-teaching staff.

Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:

📍 How the 1857 revolt lit the spark for mounting up Aligarh Muslim University

📍SC affirms number rights, sets speech its verdict that rejected AMU’s status

ECONOMY

Safe harbour clause for platforms needs a revisit, says Vaishnaw

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination:  Current events of nationalist and planetary importance

Mains Examination: General Studies-II, III: Government policies and interventions, Awarenessinthefields of IT, Computers

What’s the ongoing story: The authorities connected Saturday reiterated its stance to revisit the harmless harbour clause for societal media intermediaries specified arsenic X, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, etc, amid an summation successful instances of misinformation and fake quality implicit these platforms.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the safe harbour clause?

• Which Indian instrumentality provides harmless harbour extortion to intermediaries?

• What are the cardinal provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000?

• What measures person been taken by the authorities to modulate societal media successful India?

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of societal media?

• How does the conception of harmless harbour extortion equilibrium the competing interests of escaped code and the necessity to modulate harmful content?

• What are the planetary norms connected harmless harbour extortion for societal media intermediaries?

Key Takeaways:

• This assumes value arsenic presently nether Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, the platforms person the immunity against ineligible prosecution for contented posted by users. However, successful lawsuit of removal of harmless harbour clause oregon changes successful its contours, specified platforms volition themselves go straight accountable for the idiosyncratic contented and won’t beryllium capable to bask ineligible immunity.

• “Shouldn’t platforms operating successful a discourse arsenic analyzable arsenic India follow a antithetic acceptable of responsibilities? These pressing questions underline the request for a caller model that ensures accountability and safeguards the societal cloth of the nation,” Information and Broadcasting, Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said successful his code astatine a National Press Day event.

• The authorities talked astir reconsidering the harmless harbour clause past twelvemonth during consultations connected the Digital India Act, which erstwhile implemented volition regenerate the decades aged IT Act, 2000. However, the authorities is yet to contented a draught of the Digital India Bill for nationalist consultation.

• In his address, Vaishnaw highlighted 3 different areas — just compensation for contented creators, algorithm bias of integer platforms, and interaction of artificial quality (AI) connected intelligence spot — that are concerning and needs attention.

Do You Know:

• Section 79 of the IT Act says immoderate intermediary shall not beryllium held legally oregon different liable for immoderate 3rd enactment information, data, oregon connection nexus made disposable oregon hosted connected its platform. This protection, the Act says, shall beryllium applicable if the said intermediary does not successful immoderate way, initiate the transmission of the connection successful question, prime the receiver of the transmitted connection and does not modify immoderate accusation contained successful the transmission.

• This means that arsenic agelong arsenic a level acts conscionable arsenic the messenger carrying a connection from constituent A to constituent B, without interfering successful immoderate manner, it volition beryllium harmless from immoderate ineligible prosecution brought upon owed to the connection being transmitted.

• The extortion accorded nether Section 79, however, is not granted if the intermediary, contempt being informed oregon notified by the authorities oregon its agencies, does not instantly disable entree to the worldly nether question. The intermediary indispensable not tamper with immoderate grounds of these messages oregon contented contiguous connected its platform, failing which it suffer its extortion nether the Act.

Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:

📍Explained: Social media and harmless harbour

Previous twelvemonth UPSC Prelims/Mains Question Covering akin theme:

(4) In India, it is legally mandatory for which of the pursuing to study connected cyber information incidents? (UPSC CSE 2017)

1. Service providers

2. Data centres

3. Body corporate

Select the close reply utilizing the codification fixed below: 

(a) 1 only  

(b) 1 and 2 only 

(c) 3 only  

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Previous twelvemonth UPSC Mains Question Covering akin theme:

What are societal networking sites and what information implications bash these sites present? (UPSC CSE 2013)

For your queries and suggestions constitute at roshni.yadav@indianexpress.com

The Indian Express UPSC Essentials brings to you the October issue of its monthly magazine. Click Here to read. Share your views and suggestions successful the remark container oregon astatine manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com

Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram transmission – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and travel america on Instagram and X