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:

(A) and (D) only

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). At the Rio Earth Summit (1992), it was recognised that industrialised countries bear the main responsibility for the environmental crisis because of their historical emissions and industrial development.
(B) Environmental restrictions must be applied to all countries equally. (Incorrect). Restrictions were not applied equally; instead, differentiation was made based on countries’ capacities and responsibilities.
(C) Developing countries should be entirely exempt from restrictions related to environmental protection. (Incorrect). The "common" part of the principle establishes that all countries have a shared responsibility for environmental protection. While their responsibilities are different, they are not exempt.
(D) All the countries of the world are equally responsible for the current environmental crises. (Correct). Developed countries (North) argued that the environmental issue should be seen in the present context, and therefore all countries should be equally responsible for ecological conservation.