Q.1 Consider the following statements:
- There is no obligation for any party under the Paris Agreement to provide funds for Loss and Damage.
- It has been agreed in principle that payment to the loss and damage fund will be based on common but differentiated responsibility and obligation
- Climate Investment Funds (CIFs) have been established under UNFCC framework to manage Loss and Damage
- Developed and developing countries have agreed that loss and damage assistance will be loan-based
Which of the above statements is/are true?
- (a) 1 and 3
- (b) 1 and 2
- (c) Only 1
- (d) All of the above
Answer: (c)
Source: Hindustan Times (Developing nations open to locating Loss and Damage Fund in World Bank (November 4)
Explanation:
- Developing countries recently expressed willingness to temporarily house the Loss and Damage (L&D) Fund in the World Bank. This is a change from their previous stance and could speed up the fund’s establishment.
- The United States and many other developed nations support the idea of placing the fund in the World Bank.
- The Paris Agreement doesn’t require mandatory contributions to the Loss and Damage fund. Cooperation, rather than obligation, is the basis for funding.
- Developed nations have resisted proposals suggesting that contributions should be based on common but differentiated responsibilities and obligations.
- Developed nations have declined to acknowledge the foundational principle of common-but-differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR&RC). Consequently, they’re resisting their leading role in financing developing countries.
- Developing countries argue that placing the Loss & Damage (L&D) facility in the World Bank limits its independence. This is because the facility would lack a legal personality.
- The Climate Investment Funds (CIFs) are currently overseen by the World Bank, not the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC).
- There is a strong desire among developing nations for the fund to be located within the UNFCC. This is due to its mandatory adherence to equity principles.
- The primary funding method of the World Bank is loans.
- However, funding for loss and damage should be grant-based and easily accessible, not loan-based.
Read more about The Loss & Damage Fund
Q.2. Which of the following countries recently held ‘Naam 200’ event?
- (a) Sri Lanka
- (b) Bhutan
- (c) Bangladesh
- (4) Myanmar
Answer: (a)
Source: The Hindu (India will work with Sri Lanka on its debt treatment: Nirmala, November 4); The Print (200 yrs of Indian Tamils in Sri Lanka: Sitharaman & Tharoor to attend event marking painful history, November 2)
Explanation:
- The ‘Naam 200’ event recently took place in Sri Lanka.
- This event commemorates 200 years since Sri Lanka’s Malaiyaha Tamils arrived in the country.
- The British brought these Tamils from India to work in coffee and tea plantations.
- The Malaiyaha Tamils, also known as Hill Country Tamils or Indian-origin Tamils, have faced many hardships.
- These include losing their citizenship and working under brutal conditions in tea plantations.
- ‘Naam 200’ translates to ‘We are 200’.
- Earlier this year, the Indian government approved a 75 crore Rs grant for the Malaiyaha Tamils.
- These funds are earmarked for education and health projects in the region of the tea estates.
- The grant was announced when Sri Lankan President Ranil Wicremesinghe visited New Delhi on July 21.
- This is in addition to an ongoing project by India to build 14,000 homes for plantation families.
- The Malaiyaha Tamils are the fourth largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka, following the Sinhalese, the ‘Sri Lankan’ Tamils, and the Muslim community.
- Despite their significant population, they experience the worst conditions, sitting at the bottom of the social hierarchy.
- Sri Lanka’s tea plantation history is deeply intertwined with its ethnic diversity.
- The upcountry Tamils, also known as Malaiyaha Tamils, are a significant yet marginalized ethnic group in Sri Lanka.
- This ethnic group is distinct from the Tamil communities in the north and east of Sri Lanka.
- They have endured centuries of exploitation by plantation companies and severe discrimination.
- The 1948 Citizenship Act took away their citizenship, leaving them stateless.
- The Sirima-Shastri Pact of 1964 resulted in the repatriation of half a million Indian-origin Tamils to India.
- However, those who remained in Sri Lanka had to continue fighting for their rights and were finally granted citizenship in 1977.
Q.3 Consider the following statements:
- Carbon Capture and Utilisation is an important component of India’s Net Zero Goal
- India aims to achieve net zero ambition by 2030
- Recently, India has developed a breakthrough technology to convert CO2 to carbon monoxide
Which of the above statements is/are true?
- (a) Only One is true
- (b) Only two is true
- (c) All of the above are true
- (d) One and three are true
Answer: (d)
Source: PIB (New technology for converting CO2 to CO holds potential for carbon capture and energy saving in the steel sector; November 3, 2023)
Explanation:
- India is working towards the goal of having net zero emissions by 2070.
- There’s now an innovative energy-efficient technology that captures carbon dioxide and transforms it into carbon monoxide.
- This process occurs under electrocatalytic conditions and at normal temperatures, with water present.
- This technology has potential uses in the steel industry.
- The DST-supported National Centre of Excellence in Carbon Capture and Utilisation (NCoE-CCU) at IIT Bombay is creating new, scalable, and cost-effective methods to capture CO2 from different sources.
- The captured CO2 is then converted into usable chemicals or stored permanently.
- These efforts play a crucial role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
- The NCoE-CCU’s technology, which converts CO2 to carbon monoxide (CO), has been patented. This innovation is also set to be published in the international journal, Nature Communications.
- Carbon monoxide is widely used in numerous industries, particularly when synthesized into syn gas.
- The steel industry relies heavily on CO for transforming iron ores into metallic iron in blast furnaces.
- At present, CO is generated through coke/coal partial oxidation, a process that significantly produces CO2.
- If this CO2 emission could be captured and converted back into CO, it would create a circular economy in the process, consequently cutting down on the carbon footprint and associated costs.
- The current CO2 to CO conversion process requires high temperatures (400-750 °C), and an equivalent amount of H2 to drive the reaction forward, making it a highly energy-consuming process.
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