🧷 Authentic Classroom Explanation by IAS Monk

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📌 The Question:

Environment & Ecology

Consider the following statements:

Statement I:
At the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), India refrained from signing the ‘Declaration on Climate and Health’.

Statement II:
The COP28 Declaration on Climate and Health is a binding declaration; and if signed, it becomes mandatory to decarbonize the health sector.

Statement III:
If India’s health sector is decarbonized, the resilience of its health-care system may be compromised.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

(a) Both Statement II and Statement III are correct and both of them explain Statement I
(b) Both Statement II and Statement III are correct but only one of them explains Statement I
(c) Only one of the Statements II and III is correct and that explains Statement I
(d) Neither Statement II nor Statement III is correct

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✅ Correct Answer: (c)

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🔍 Curiosity Raiser

Why would a country vulnerable to climate change hesitate to sign a health-focused climate declaration?

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🌍 Enrich Notes (UPSC Value Add)

• COP28 (Dubai, 2023) saw health formally integrated into climate discourse
• Declaration focused on:
  • Cooling-related emissions
  • Climate-resilient health systems
• Over 120 countries signed, but some major developing countries abstained

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🧠 Authentic Classroom Explanation

Statement I — ✔️ Correct

• India did not sign the COP28 Declaration on Climate and Health
• The concern was not climate denial, but operational feasibility

Statement II — ❌ Incorrect

• The declaration is:
  • Non-binding
  • Non-negotiated
  • A political call to action, not a legal obligation
• Hence, signing it does not mandate compulsory decarbonisation

Statement III — ✔️ Correct (Key Explainer)

• India highlighted that:
  • Rapid decarbonisation of cooling in healthcare
  • May weaken service delivery in remote, hot, and underserved regions
• Cooling is life-critical infrastructure, not a luxury
• Thus, decarbonisation could reduce system resilience, explaining India’s reluctance

✅ Only Statement III is correct and explains Statement I

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🕯️ IAS Monk Whisper

Climate ambition must breathe through reality,
or it risks suffocating the very systems meant to save lives.