Match List-I (Environmental Agreement) with List-II (Year / Description) and select the correct code:

Question

Match List-I (Environmental Agreement) with List-II (Year / Description) and select the correct code:

List-I

i. Stockholm

ii. Rio

iii. Kyoto

iv. Paris

List-II

a. 1997 targets

b. 1992 Agenda 21

c. 1972 first UN conf

d. 2015 global agreement

Choose the correct match:

1. A. i-c, ii-b, iii-a, iv-d (Correct answer)
2. B. i-b, ii-c, iii-d, iv-a
3. C. i-c, ii-a, iii-b, iv-d
4. D. i-a, ii-b, iii-c, iv-d

Correct Answer

Option A — i-c, ii-b, iii-a, iv-d

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is i-c, ii-b, iii-a, iv-d.

Key Points

• The four milestones of international environmental governance, in order:
  • i. Stockholm - c. 1972, first UN conference on the Human Environment, which created UNEP.
  • ii. Rio - b. 1992, Agenda 21, adopted at the Earth Summit along with the CBD and UNFCCC.
  • iii. Kyoto - a. 1997 targets, the protocol placing binding emission cuts on developed countries.
  • iv. Paris - d. 2015 global agreement, under which every party sets its own Nationally Determined Contribution.

Additional Information

• The sequence is worth memorising as a chain, because it is examined repeatedly in both match and ordering form: 1972 → 1992 → 1997 → 2015.
• The shift from Kyoto to Paris is the conceptual point. Kyoto was top-down, imposing targets on an Annex I list; Paris is bottom-up, with each country pledging its own contribution and reporting progress through a global stocktake every five years.
• Agenda 21 is the non-binding action plan for sustainable development in the 21st century, and it is the origin of Local Agenda 21 initiatives run by municipal governments.
• Stockholm's importance for India is direct: the Water Act 1974 and Air Act 1981 were both enacted under Article 253 to implement decisions taken there, a fact tested elsewhere in this same paper.