The debates on 'Common but differentiated responsibilities' at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 are-
(A) The industrialised countries are mainly responsible for the environmental crises and must take more responsibility for undoing the damage.
(B) Environmental restrictions must be applied to all countries equally.
(C) Developing countries should be entirely exempt from restrictions related to environmental protection.
(D) All the countries of the world are equally responsible for the current environmental crises.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → (A) and (D) only
(A) The industrialised countries are mainly responsible for the environmental crises and must take more responsibility for undoing the damage. Correct. This was the argument of the developing countries of the South: much of the ecological degradation in the world is the product of industrial development undertaken by the developed countries, and if they have caused more degradation, they must also take more responsibility for undoing the damage now.
(B) Environmental restrictions must be applied to all countries equally. Incorrect. Equal restrictions for all were what the developing countries rejected: they argued that, being still in the process of industrialisation, they must not be subjected to the same restrictions that apply to the developed countries.
(C) Developing countries should be entirely exempt from restrictions related to environmental protection. Incorrect. The developing countries asked that their special needs be taken into account and that they not face the same restrictions as the developed countries, not that they be free of every environmental restriction. The responsibility is still common, though differentiated.
(D) All the countries of the world are equally responsible for the current environmental crises. Correct. This was the view of the developed countries of the North, which wanted to discuss the environmental issue as it stands now and wanted everyone to be equally responsible for ecological conservation.
Note: Statement (B) says that the same environmental restrictions should apply to all countries. It can be read as the North’s view, since the North wanted every country to be equally responsible for ecological conservation, so Option (4), (B) and (D), may look right. But the debate had two sides. The North’s side, that all countries are equally responsible, is statement (D); the South’s side, that the industrialised countries must take more responsibility for undoing the damage, is statement (A). Option (4) gives two statements from the North’s side and leaves out the South’s view, and statement (C) is wrong. So Option (1), (A) and (D) only, is the answer, as per the NTA answer key.
NCERT (2026-27): “Common but Differentiated Responsibilities … We have noted above a difference in the approach to environment between the countries of the North and the South. The developed countries of the North want to discuss the environmental issue as it stands now and want everyone to be equally responsible for ecological conservation. The developing countries of the South feel that much of the ecological degradation in the world is the product of industrial development undertaken by the developed countries. If they have caused more degradation, they must also take more responsibility for undoing the damage now. Moreover, the developing countries are in the process of industrialisation and they must not be subjected to the same restrictions, which apply to the developed countries. Thus the special needs of the developing countries must be taken into account in the development, application, and interpretation of rules of international environmental law.…” |