Read the given passage and answer the following questions based on it.
Emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases plunged 4.6 percent in 2020, as lockdowns in the first half of the year restricted global mobility and hampered economic activity. Many hoped that this would mark the beginning of a more permanent shift downwards in emissions. Emissions from the manufacturing and the energy sectors contributed the most to recent global increases based on updated information from the IMF’s Climate Change Indicators Dashboard—a joint effort among national and international statistical organizations to provide timely data to help monitor the transition to lower carbon use.
As greenhouse gas emissions from human activities increase, they build up in the atmosphere and warm the climate, leading to many other changes around the world—in the atmosphere, on land, and in the oceans. While total emissions have climbed significantly above pre-pandemic levels, increases from transportation and households were more muted last year as the pandemic weighed on global mobility. This was particularly evident with the emergence of the omicron variant in the fourth quarter of last year. The public health policy measures in many countries drove down the emissions of households and of the electricity sector.
It will be important to monitor the emissions of both of these sectors as economies fully reopen in the context of historically high fossil fuel-based energy prices. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said that, in the scenarios they assessed, limiting atmospheric warming to the key level of around 1.5 degrees Celsius requires global greenhouse gas emissions to peak by 2025 at the latest, emphasizing that achieving this milestone is a crucial step towards controlling the severity of climate change. The new data from the climate dashboard underscore what some scientists have warned: time is running out, and we must urgently bend the emissions curve to achieve the necessary reductions to limit atmospheric warming.
According to the passage, why did greenhouse gas emissions decrease in 2020?
Reduced emissions from manufacturing and energy sectors
The introduction of global policy over capping greenhouse gas emission by 30%
Global mobility restrictions and economic activity declination due to lockdown
Increased use of renewable energy sources
The emergence of the Climate Change Indicators Dashboard
Global mobility restrictions and economic activity declination due to lockdown
S1. Ans.(c)
Sol. The correct answer is: “Global mobility restrictions and economic activity declination due to lockdown".
The passage explicitly states that greenhouse gas emissions decreased in 2020 due to lockdowns in the first half of the year, which restricted global mobility and hampered economic activity. For better understanding, refer to the first sentence of the passage, “ Emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases plunged 4.6 percent in 2020, as lockdowns in the first half of the year restricted global mobility and hampered economic activity”.
Information given in other options are incorrect as they do not align with the information presented in the passage.
(a) Reduced emissions from manufacturing and energy sectors: This option is not supported by the passage. The passage does mention that emissions from manufacturing and the energy sectors contributed to recent global increases in greenhouse gas emissions, but it does not indicate that these emissions decreased in 2020.
(b) The introduction of global policy over capping greenhouse gas emission by 30%:
There is no mention of such a global policy in the passage. Therefore, this option is not supported by the information provided.
(d) Increased use of renewable energy sources:
There is no mention in the passage that the decrease in emissions in 2020 was primarily due to increased use of renewable energy sources. While renewable energy sources are beneficial for reducing emissions, this specific cause is not mentioned.
(e) The emergence of the Climate Change Indicators Dashboard: The Climate Change Indicators Dashboard is mentioned in the passage, but it is not cited as a reason for the decrease in emissions in 2020. Therefore, this option is not supported by the passage.