💥Mains Ready By December. Smash Mains & Smash PYQ Admissions Open
Talk to Mentor

Civilsdaily

Login

GS Paper: GS1

  • Person in news: Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji

    The Prime Minister has paid tributes to Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji on his Martyrdom Day.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. Consider the following Bhakti Saints:

    1. Dadu Dayal
    2. Guru Nanak
    3. Tyagaraja

    Who among the above was/were preaching when the Lodi dynasty fell and Babur took over?

    (a) 1 and 3

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 2 and 3

    (d) 1 and 2

    Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621–1675)

    • Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He was born at Amritsar in 1621 and was the youngest son of Guru Hargobind.
    • His term as Guru ran from 1665 to 1675. One hundred and fifteen of his hymns are in Guru Granth Sahib.
    • There are several accounts explaining the motive behind the assassination of Guru Tegh Bahadur on Aurangzeb’s orders.
    • He stood up for the rights of Kashmiri Pandits who approached him against religious persecution by Aurangzeb.
    • He was publicly killed in 1675 on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Delhi for himself refusing Mughal rulers and defying them.
    • Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib and Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in Delhi mark the places of execution and cremation of his body.

    Impact of his martyrdom

    • The execution hardened the resolve of Sikhs against religious oppression and persecution.
    • His martyrdom helped all Sikh Panths consolidate to make the protection of human rights central to its Sikh identity.
    • Inspired by him, his nine-year-old son, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, eventually organized the Sikh group into a distinct, formal, symbol-patterned community came to be known as Khalsa (Martial) identity.

  • Koothambalam of Guruvayur Temple

    The renovated Koothambalam of the Sreekrishna temple, Guruvayur, has been selected for the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for cultural heritage conservation.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. Building ‘Kalyana Mandapas’ was a notable feature in the temple construction in the kingdom of-
    (a) Chalukya
    (b) Chandela
    (c) Rashtrakuta
    (d) Vijayanagara

    What is Koothambalam?

    • Koothambalam meaning temple theatre is a closed hall for staging Koothu, Nangiar koothu and Koodiyattam, the ancient ritualistic art forms of Kerala.
    • Koothambalams are said to be constructed according to the guidelines given in chapter 2 of Nātyasāstra of Bharata Muni.
    • The stage within the hall is considered to be as sacred as the temple sanctum.

    Its’ construction

    • It is constructed within the cloister of the Temple; more precisely within the pancaprakaras of the temple. The prescribe location is between the prakaras of bahyahara and maryada.
    • In Kerala tradition, it is considered as one among the panchaprasadas of a temple complex.
    • Its dimension varies from temple to temple.
    • A square platform with a separate pyramidal roof supported by pillars in the centre called natyamandapam is constructed as s separate structure within the large hall of Koothampalam.
    • The floor of the hall is divided into two equal halves and one part is for performance (including stage, instruments, green room etc.) and another half for seating audience.

    About Guruvayur Temple

    • It is a Hindu temple dedicated to the Hindu lord, Guruvayurappan (a four-armed form of the Lord Vishnu), located in the town of Guruvayur in Kerala.
    • It is one of the most important places of worship for Hindus in Kerala and is often referred to as Bhuloka Vaikunta (Holy Abode of Vishnu on Earth).

  • Converting waste to energy

    The new plant at Bidadi has several advantages but also some operational challenges.

    Practice Question: Discuss the various benefits of waste to energy plants and challenges in running them successfully.

    The prospectus of new plant

    • The new 5 MW waste-to-energy plant is going to set up near Bidadi, Karnataka.
    • This plant is expected to process 600 tonnes per day of inorganic waste.
    • The inorganic waste, which consists of bad quality plastics and used cloth pieces, can be processed as Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF). This material has a calorific value of more than 2,500 kJ/kg.
    • This can be used to generate steam energy, which can be converted into electric energy.

    A well-planned plant

    • The waste-to-energy plants usually accept the RDF material generated in organic composting plants.
    • They also segregate the wet and inorganic material near the plant, convert organic waste to compost, and inorganic waste to energy.
    • About 50 tonnes of RDF generate 1 MW of power, which indicates that the plant at Bidadi has been appropriately designed.

    A permanent solution

    • Handling inorganic waste that is not fit for recycling has always been a challenge.
    • At present, these high-calorific materials are landfilled or left unhandled in waste plants and cause fire accidents.
    • Attempts to send this material to cement kilns have not fructified.
    • The proposed plant can source 600 tonnes per day of this RDF and generate 11.5 MW of power equivalent to 2.4 lakh units of power per day.
    • This will reduce the dependence on unscientific landfills, reduce fire accidents, and provide a permanent solution to recover value from inorganic waste.

    Challenges

    • Needed a good demonstration model – Over the last decade, several Indian cities have been trying to set up such plants but a good demonstration model is yet to be established.
    • Nature of waste – Technology suppliers are international organizations who struggle with the change in quality and nature of waste generated in Indian cities. A few plants in India have stopped operations for this reason.
    • The plants require fine inorganic material with less than 5% moisture and less than 5% silt and soil contents, whereas the moisture and inert content in the mixed waste generated is more than 15%-20%.
    • The sticky silt and soil particles can also reduce the calorific value.
    • Economic cost per unit of electricity – The other big challenge for this plant is the power tariff which is around ₹7-8 KwH which is higher than the ₹3-4 per KwH generated through coal and other means.

    Way forward

    • For the successful running, the plant needs to ease the challenge of handling inorganic waste, the efficiency of organic waste processing/ composting plants.
    • With the increasing waste generation in the coming years, there is a need for more such plants which are environment friendly. 

    Back2Basics: Refuse-derived fuel (RDF)

    • Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) is a fuel produced from various types of waste such as municipal solid waste (MSW), industrial waste or commercial waste.
    • It is selected waste and by-products with recoverable calorific value can be used as fuels in a cement kiln, replacing a portion of conventional fossil fuels, like coal, if they meet strict specifications.
    • Sometimes they can only be used after pre-processing to provide ‘tailor-made’ fuels for the cement process.
    • RDF consists largely of combustible components of such waste, as non-recyclable plastics (not including PVC), paper cardboard, labels, and other corrugated materials.
    • These fractions are separated by different processing steps, such as screening, air classification, ballistic separation, separation of ferrous and non-ferrous materials, glass, stones and other foreign materials and shredding into a uniform grain size, or also pelletized.
    • This produces a homogeneous material which can be used as a substitute for fossil fuels in e.g. cement plants, lime plants, coal-fired power plants or as a reduction agent in steel furnaces.

  • A-68s: Largest floating Iceberg

    A research mission is held to find out the impact of a giant floating iceberg A-68s on the wildlife and marine life on a sub-Antarctic island.

    Q. How does the cryosphere affect global climate? (CSM 2017)

    What are Icebergs?

    • An iceberg is a large piece of freshwater ice that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open (salt) water.
    • Small bits of disintegrating icebergs are called “growlers” or “bergy bits”.
    • Much of an iceberg is below the surface which led to the expression “tip of the iceberg” to illustrate a small part of a larger unseen issue.
    • Icebergs are considered a serious maritime hazard, especially for shipping industries.

    A-68s

    • The iceberg — named A-68s — is travelling at varying speeds depending on local conditions, but at its fastest was travelling about 20 kilometres a day.
    • The huge iceberg — the size of the U.S. state of Delaware — has been floating north since it broke away from Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf in 2017.
    • It is now about 75 kilometres from the island of South Georgia, and scientists are concerned over the risks it poses to the wildlife in the area if it grounds near the island.
    • South Georgia is home to colonies of tens of thousands of penguins and 6 million fur seals, which could be threatened by the iceberg during their breeding season.
    • The waters near the island are also one of the world’s largest marine protected areas and house more marine species than the Galapagos.
    • Destruction by the iceberg will release this stored carbon back into the water and, potentially, the atmosphere, which would be a further negative impact.

  • Human Development Index (HDI) 2019

    India dropped two ranks in the United Nations’ Human Development Index this year, standing at 131 out of 189 countries.

    Try this PYQ:

    Which one of the following is not a sub-index of the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business Index’?

    (a) Maintenance of law and order

    (b) Paying taxes

    (c) Registering property

    (d) Dealing with construction permits

    Human Development Index (HDI)

    • HDI is a statistical tool used to measure a country’s overall achievement in its social and economic dimensions.
    • It is one of the best tools to keep track of the level of development of a country, as it combines all major social and economic indicators that are responsible for economic development.
    • Pakistani economist Mahbub-ul-Haq created HDI in 1990 which was further used to measure the country’s development by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
    • Every year UNDP ranks countries based on the HDI report released in their annual report.

    Various indicators under HDI

    • Calculation of the index combines four major indicators: life expectancy for health, expected years of schooling, mean of years of schooling for education and GNI per capita for the standard of living.

    For the first time: PHDI

    • For the first time, the UNDP introduced a new metric to reflect the impact caused by each country’s per-capita carbon emissions and its material footprint.
    • This is Planetary Pressures-adjusted HDI or PHDI.
    • It measured the amount of fossil fuels, metals and other resources used to make the goods and services it consumes.
    • The report found that no country has yet been able to achieve a very high level of development without putting a huge strain on natural resources.

    Highlights of the 2019 Report

    • Norway, which tops the HDI, falls 15 places if this metric is used, leaving Ireland at the top of the table.
    • In fact, 50 countries would drop entirely out of the “very high human development group” category, using this new metric PHDI.
    • Australia falls 72 places in the ranking, while the US and Canada would fall 45 and 40 places respectively, reflecting their disproportionate impact on natural resources.
    • The oil and the gas-rich Gulf States also fell steeply. China would drop 16 places from its current ranking of 85.

    Indian scenario

    • If the Index were adjusted to assess the planetary pressures caused by each nation’s development, India would move up eight places in the rankings.
    • China’s net emissions (8 gigatonnes) are 34% below its territorial emissions (12.5 gigatonnes) compared with 19% in India and 15% in Sub-Saharan Africa.

  • How to measure a Mountain?

    China and Nepal have announced Mount Everest is 0.86 m taller than the 8,848 m accepted globally so far.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.When you travel to the Himalayas, you will see the following:

    1. Deep gorges
    2. U-turn river courses
    3. Parallel mountain ranges
    4. Steep gradients causing land-sliding

    Which of the above can be said to be the evidences for the Himalayas being young fold mountains?

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 1, 2 and 4 only

    (c) 3 and 4 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

    Scaling a mountains’ height

    • The basic principle that was used earlier is very simple and uses  only trigonometry which most of us are familiar with, or at least can recall.
    • There are three sides and three angles in any triangle. If we know any three of these quantities, provided one of them is a side, all the others can be calculated.
    • In a right-angled triangle, one of the angles is already known, so if we know any other angle and one of the sides, the others can be found out.
    • This principle can be applied for measuring the height of any object that does not offer the convenience of dropping a measuring tape from top to bottom.

    Accuracy issues

    • For small hills and mountains, whose top can be observed from relatively close distances, this can give quite precise measurements.
    • But for Mount Everest and other high mountains, there are some other complications.
    • These again arise from the fact that we do not know where the base of the mountain is.

    Measuring against sea level

    • Generally, for practical purposes, the heights are measured above mean sea level (MSL). Moreover, we need to find the distance to the mountain.
    • This is done through a painstaking process called high-precision levelling. Starting from the coastline, we calculate step by step the difference in height, using special instruments.
    • This is how we know the height of any city from mean sea level.

    Adjusting gravitation anomaly

    • But there is one additional problem to be contended with — gravity. Gravity is different in different places. It means that even sea level cannot be considered to be uniform at all places.
    • So, the local gravity is also measured to calculate the local sea level. Nowadays sophisticated portable gravitometers are available that can be carried even to mountain peaks.

    Technology solutions

    • These days GPS is widely used to determine coordinates and heights, even of mountains.
    • But, GPS gives precise coordinates of the top of a mountain relative to an ellipsoid which is an imaginary surface mathematically modelled to represent Earth.
    • This surface differs from the mean sea level. Similarly, overhead flying planes equipped with laser beams (LiDAR) can also be used to get the coordinates.

    How accurate are China/Nepal’s apprehensions?

    • Considering that during 1952-1954, when neither GPS and satellite techniques were available nor the sophisticated gravimeters, the task of determining the height of Mount Everest was not easy.
    • Nepal and China have said they have measured Mount Everest to be 86 cm higher than the 8,848 m that it was known to be.
    • But these have been explained in terms of geological processes that might be altering the height of Everest. The accuracy of the 1954 result has never been questioned.
    • Most scientists now believe that the height of Mount Everest is increasing at a very slow rate. This is because of the northward movement of the Indian tectonic plate that is pushing the surface up.
    • Big earthquake, like the one that happened in Nepal in 2015, can alter the heights of mountains. Such events have happened in the past.

  • India’s Commitment for Paris Agreement

    This week marks the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, where formidable climate diplomacy ushered 196 rich and poor countries into a legally binding treaty seeking to hold global heating below 2°C at this century’s end.

    Try this PYQ first, then head with the news:

    Q.With reference to the Agreement at the UNFCCC Meeting in Paris in 2015, which of the following statements is/are correct?

    1.    The Agreement was signed by all the member countries of the UN and it will go into effect in 2017.
    2.    The Agreement aims to limit the greenhouse gas emissions so that the rise in average global temperature by the end of this century does not exceed 20C or even 1.50C above pre-industrial levels.
    3.    Developed countries acknowledged their historical responsibility in global warming and committed to donate S 1000 billion a year from 2020 to help developing countries to cope with climate change.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below.

    (a)    1 and 3 only

    (b)    2 only

    (c)    2 and 3 only

    (d)    1, 2 and 3

    The Paris Agreement

    • The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015 and entered into force on 4 November 2016.
    • Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.
    • To achieve this long-term temperature goal, countries aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve a climate-neutral world by mid-century.
    • It is a landmark process because, for the first time, a binding agreement brings all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects.

    How does it function?

    • Implementation of the Paris Agreement requires economic and social transformation, based on the best available science.
    • The Agreement works on a 5- year cycle of increasingly ambitious climate action carried out by countries.
    • By 2020, countries submit their plans for climate action known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

    NDCs

    • In their NDCs, countries communicate actions they will take to reduce their Greenhouse Gas emissions in order to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement.
    • Countries also communicate in the NDCs actions they will take to build resilience to adapt to the impacts of rising temperatures.

    Long-Term Strategies

    • To better frame the efforts towards the long-term goal, the Paris Agreement invites countries to formulate and submit by 2020 long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies (LT-LEDS).
    • LT-LEDS provide the long-term horizon to the NDCs. Unlike NDCs, they are not mandatory.
    • Nevertheless, they place the NDCs into the context of countries’ long-term planning and development priorities, providing a vision and direction for future development.

    India’s commitment

    In 2015, ahead of the UN significant climate conference in Paris, India announced three major voluntary commitments called the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC):

    1. Improving the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33–35% by 2030 over 2005 levels
    2. Increasing the share of non-fossil fuels-based electricity to 40% by 2030 and
    3. Enhancing its forest cover, thereby absorbing 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide

    A success (?)

    • The Environment Minister said that we have achieved 21% of its emissions intensity reduction target as a proportion of its GDP in line with its pledge to a 33-35% reduction by 2030.
    • India was the only major G20 country that was on track towards keeping to its nationally determined commitments to halt runaway global warming.

  • What are Rossby Waves?

    Droughts in India have historically been associated with El Nino, anomalous warming of the equatorial Pacific, but Indian scientists have found some relevance in Rossby Waves.

    Q.The determinants of Indian Monsoon are no more limited to the Pacific and the Indian Ocean. Discuss.

    El-Nino alone do not cause drought

    • The study says that nearly six out of 10 droughts, in non-El Nino years occurred during the Indian summer-monsoon season in the past century.
    • They may have been driven by atmospheric disturbances from the North Atlantic region.
    • In an El Niño year, abnormally warm equatorial Pacific waters pull moisture-laden clouds away from the subcontinent.
    • But the IISc Bangalore study shows that in non-El Nino years, these droughts are a consequence of a sudden and steep drop in rainfall in late August.

    Then, how were droughts induced?

    • In an El Nino year, the rainfall deficit departure from a long-term average set in early around mid-June and progressively worsen.
    • Researchers tried to trace this drought back to a forcing agent or system that influences the behaviour over India.
    • They found, the winds that were prevalent in these non-El Niño drought years.

    Another factor: The Rossby Waves

    • The researchers noted that winds in the upper atmosphere are interacting with a deep cyclonic circulation above the abnormally cold North Atlantic waters.
    • The resulting wave of air currents called a Rossby wave, curved down from the North Atlantic squeezed in by the Tibetan plateau and hits the subcontinent around mid-August.
    • This has a suppressing effect on rainfall and throws off the monsoon that was trying to recover from the June slump.

    Now scratch your basics on Planetary Winds. “Go back to the NCERTs !”

    What are Rossby Waves?

    • They are giant meanders in high-altitude winds that have a major influence on the weather.
    • They are influenced by the Coriolis force and pressure gradient.
    • The wave’s usual course is to go from west to east, but not towards the equator.

    Points to be noted ……

    • The Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean seem to be at the forefront of all discussions surrounding Indian monsoon droughts.
    • Thus beyond looking at the Pacific Ocean it is important to consider other influences on the Indian monsoon from outside the tropics.
    • It is perhaps time to focus just as much on mid-latitude influences, which might aid in getting a better handle on enhanced predictability of monsoon variability.

  • What is Aurora Borealis?

    Northern Lights, also known as aurora borealis could be visible in regions such as in the northern parts of Illinois and Pennsylvania in the US.

    Try this PYQ:

    What is a coma, in the context of Astronomy?

    (a) Bright half of material on the comet

    (b) Long tail of dust

    (c) Two asteroids orbiting each other

    (d) Two planets orbiting each other

    Aurora

    • Auroras occur when charged particles ejected from the Sun’s surface — called the solar wind — enter the Earth’s atmosphere.
    • While flowing toward Earth, the fast-moving solar wind carries with it the Sun’s magnetic field, which disrupts the magnetosphere — the region of space around Earth in which the magnetic field of our planet is dominant.
    • When the Sun’s magnetic field approaches Earth, the protective magnetic field radiating from our planet’s poles deflects the former, thus shielding life on Earth.
    • However, as this happens, the protective fields couple together to form funnels, through which charged solar wind particles are able to stream down to the poles.
    • At the north and south poles, the charged particles interact with different gases in the atmosphere, causing a display of light in the sky.
    • This display, known as an aurora, is seen from the Earth’s high latitude regions (called the auroral oval), and is active all year round.

    Behind the name

    • In the northern part of our globe, the polar lights are called aurora borealis or Northern Lights and are seen from the US (Alaska), Canada, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
    • In the south, they are called aurora australis or southern lights and are visible from high latitudes in Antarctica, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand and Australia.

    Where is it observed?

    • Generally, the auroral oval is usually witnessed far up in the Polar Regions or the high latitude regions of Europe, like in Norway.
    • But occasionally, the oval expands, and the lights become visible at lower latitudes.
    • This happens during periods of high solar activity, such as the arrival of solar storms.
    • Solar activities include solar flares, solar energetic particles, high-speed solar wind and Coronal Mass Ejections (CME).

  • A History of Climate Change Negotiations

    China’s announcement of achieving net-zero by 2060 is a stepping stone in the fight against climate change. But it means nothing until countries share the goals they intend to follow.

    Why are we reading this news?

    We often get to hear that UPSC suddenly switches to basics after maneuvering over current affairs. This news is a perfect example which strikes the balance between basics and current affairs.

    Climate change: A disaster in making

    • Anthropogenic climate change can be traced back to the industrial revolution.
    • The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) greenhouse gas has increased to 415 parts per million (ppm) from 280 ppm since then.
    • A global momentum, therefore, was required to get all countries on board.

    Realization of climate action: Birth of UNFCCC

    • The idea led to the formation of the United Nations Framework for Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC, also known as ‘The Convention’) in 1992, at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
    • The convention divided the countries on the basis of their differing commitments: Annex I and II consisted of industrialized and developed countries and Non-Annex I comprised developing countries.

    Wait! You need not remember everything* in this newscard. But, have walk through the timeline; it will concretize your idea about the global climate action and the possible way forward.

    A timeline

    The Conference of Parties (CoP) is the supreme decision-making body at the convention and comprises states that are party to it.

    COP 1:

    • At CoP1 in Berlin 1995, the Convention highlighted the shortcomings of UNFCCC — the voluntary nature of the agreement.
    • It stressed how no substantive action was taken to address the cause against climate change, which in turn put forward the need for “legally binding” actions.

    COP 2:

    The proposal of legally binding targets was further emphasised upon in COP2 in Geneva in 1996.

    COP 3:

    • In COP3 in Kyoto in 1997, the legally binding targets were approved of by different countries. They came to be known as the Kyoto Protocol.
    • It is considered to be one of the most important steps despite its late acceptance for it paved the way for further negotiations through legally binding targets for Annex I countries and establishment of carbon markets.
    • The mechanisms proposed by Kyoto Protocol to reduce emissions included Joint Implementation, Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) and Emissions Trading.

    COP 4 and COP 5:

    In COP4 in 1998 and COP5 in 1999, the rulebook for implementing the Kyoto Protocol was on the process with the adoption of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action in COP4, along with continued negotiation efforts in COP5.

    COP 7:

    • In COP7 in Marrakesh in 2001, the guidelines for flexible mechanisms of joint implementation, CDM markets, emissions trading was agreed upon. It came to be known as the Marrakesh Accord.
    • It was particularly important because mitigation efforts had already started and special attention was given to developing countries.
    • It asked them to build their capacities and ensuring technology transfer through least developed countries (LDC) Fund, special climate change fund (SCCF) and adaptation fund.

    COP 8:

    The COP8 in 2002, which was held in “New Delhi”, emphasised on adaptation measures and stressed that poverty alleviation and development were the utmost priority of developing countries.

    COP 10:

    • The future course of action was discussed in COP10 in Montreal in 2005 after Russia ratified the Protocol in 2004 at COP10 in Argentina.
    • A two-track approach was formed, which included the constructive implementation of UNFCCC as well as formation an ad-hoc committee for the Kyoto Protocol.

    COP 15:

    • Copenhagen COP 2009 was set by the ad-hoc working group on Kyoto protocol formed during Montreal COP 2005.
    • The group agreed to have a deal in 2009 regarding a legally binding climate regime from 2012-2020.
    • The discussions lost track when developed countries started advocating for burden-sharing with developing countries.

    COP 16:

    • The disappointment of Copenhagen was turned into an opportunity in Cancun 2010, where the Copenhagen Accord was accepted.
    • It looked forward to a second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol and established the Cancun Adaptation Framework.
    • For the first time, a temperature target of 2 degrees Celsius was included. The Green climate fund was formed and developed countries agreed to contribute.

    COP 17:

    • Following Cancun, Durban COP 2011 took place wherein the seed of the Paris Agreement was sown.
    • The seed started sprouting in Doha COP 2012, where countries decided to avoid the gap between Kyoto and next legal climate regime.
    • So, the second regime of Kyoto was decided from 2012-2020. The third pillar of loss and damage was incorporated for the first time.

    COP 20:

    In COP in Lima in 2014, countries submitted their own climate ambitions in the form of intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs).

    COP 21: The Pathbreaker

    • In 2015, the Paris agreement was finally adopted and the INDCs were annexed to it.
    • It was agreed that the Paris agreement would start from 2021.
    • 2015 was known as a year of multilateral agreements because, in addition to the Paris agreement, sustainable development goals and Sendai Framework was also adopted.
    • 2015, therefore, came out to be a successful year.

    Post Paris Agreement

    • The retreat of developed countries: In all these post-2020 talks, developed countries tactfully avoided their pre-2020 commitments by not ratifying the Kyoto protocol.
    • Post-Paris discussions for the finalization of the Rulebook began.
    • Most were finalised in 2018, except the market mechanism and measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) of greenhouse gas which are due in COP26 in 2021.

    Agenda for next COP in 2021

    • The next COP will be in 2021 in Glasgow with two sets of agendas for discussion.
    • The first will be to complete the rule-book of Paris Agreement implementation, whose two aspects regarding Sustainable Development Mechanism (SDM) architecture and MRV framework are yet to be completed.
    • The second will be to ensure smooth implementation of the Paris Agreement from 1st January 2021.
    • Countries are expected to revise their NDCs as the present course of activities is projected to cause an increase in temperature of 2.8-3 C rise.

    The situation today: Nothing beyong big promises

    • China’s recent announcement of achieving net-zero by 2060 comes across as the stepping stone of future climate change mitigation efforts.
    • Political announcements, however, mean nothing until countries actually share the goals they intend to follow.
    • On the contrary, India is the only country whose NDCs are in line with the 2 degrees Celsius target.
    • Another substantial happening in the domain of climate change includes Joe Biden’s promise of joining the Paris Agreement; it would bring the US back to the GCF fund.