With reference to Global Environment Facility, which of the following statements is/are correct ? 1. It was established in 1991. 2. Only the developed countries are donors to it. Select the correct answer from the code given below :
- (a)Only 2
- (b)Both 1 and 2
- (c)Neither 1 nor 2
- (d)Only 1
Correct — D, Only 1. Statement 1 is true: the Global Environment Facility was established in October 1991, initially as a pilot programme housed in the World Bank, and was restructured after the 1992 Rio Earth Summit into a permanent, independent institution with its own governance. Statement 2 is false: the GEF is not funded only by developed countries. Its replenishments are pledged by a mixed group of contributors that includes developing countries, and India is both a donor to the Fund and a recipient of its grants. The design of its governing Council makes the same point — its seats are divided 14 to developed countries, 16 to developing countries and 2 to economies in transition, giving the recipient world a built-in majority that no donors-only club would concede. So statement 1 stands, statement 2 falls, and the answer is 'Only 1'.
- (a)Only 2 — It rejects the one statement that is right and keeps the one that is wrong. 1991 is the GEF's correct year of establishment, and the claim that only developed countries fund it is untrue — developing countries, India among them, contribute to its replenishments.
- (b)Both 1 and 2 — Half right. The year is correct, but 'only the developed countries are donors' is the kind of absolute that should always be tested: the GEF's own membership (186 countries) and its Council's 14/16/2 split show contributions and control are deliberately shared with developing countries.
- (c)Neither 1 nor 2 — This throws away a correct statement. The GEF was indeed set up in 1991 — first as a World Bank pilot facility, then made permanent and independent in the wake of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.
The Global Environment Facility is the money side of the global environmental treaty system. Created in 1991 and made an independent institution after Rio 1992, it does not negotiate rules or run its own research; it channels grant and concessional finance to developing countries and economies in transition for projects on climate change, biodiversity, land degradation, chemicals and waste, and international waters. Because it holds the purse for several conventions at once, it is designated as their financial mechanism rather than being an agency of any one of them.
Statement 2 is the giveaway, and the technique is general: in prelims, a statement containing 'only' about the membership or funding of a big multilateral body is usually planted to be false. Multilateral environmental funds are built as bargains between donors and recipients, so a design in which recipients neither contribute nor vote would be politically impossible — and the GEF's Council, where developing countries hold more seats than developed ones, proves it. Statement 1 is then the easier half: 1991 for establishment, 1992 (Rio) for restructuring into a permanent body.
- GEF established in October 1991 as a pilot programme within the World Bank; restructured as a permanent, independent institution after the 1992 Rio Earth Summit
- It serves as a financial mechanism for the UNFCCC, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the UNCCD, the Stockholm Convention and the Minamata Convention
- Membership stands at 186 countries; the GEF Council's seats are split 14 developed / 16 developing / 2 economies in transition
- Developing countries, India included, pledge to GEF replenishments — India is both a donor and a recipient
- GEF-8, the replenishment cycle for 2022-2026, raised a record USD 5.33 billion, pledged in June 2022
- October 1991 — GEF established as a pilot programme inside the World Bank [Statement 1: TRUE]
- 1992 — Rio Earth Summit; GEF restructured as a permanent, independent institution
- Designated financial mechanism for UNFCCC, CBD, UNCCD, Stockholm and Minamata Conventions
- Today: 186 members; Council seats 14 developed / 16 developing / 2 economies in transition [Statement 2: FALSE — donors are not only developed countries]
- GEF-8 replenishment (2022-2026): a record USD 5.33 billion pledged
Statement 1 (established 1991) is true; statement 2 (only developed countries are donors) is false — hence option (d), Only 1.
- Reading absolutes — 'only', 'all', 'never' — in statements about multilateral membership or funding without testing them
- Confusing the GEF with the Green Climate Fund, which was set up much later under the UNFCCC and is a separate body
- Thinking the GEF conducts scientific research or sets environmental standards; it finances projects, it does not do either
UPPSC asks the GEF as two crisp statements — a year plus a membership or funding claim. UPSC asks it functionally: which conventions the GEF acts as financial mechanism for, and what kind of body it is (financier, not research agency, not an OECD arm).
With reference to 'Global Environment Facility', which of the following statements is/are correct?
- (a) It serves as financial mechanism for 'Convention on Biological Diversity' and 'United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change'
- (b) It undertakes scientific research on environmental issues at global level
- (c) It is an agency under OECD to facilitate the transfer of technology and funds to underdeveloped countries with specific aim to protect their environment
- (d) Both (a) and (b)
Answer(a) It serves as financial mechanism for 'Convention on Biological Diversity' and 'United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change'
The same body under the same stem — UPSC's version tests what the GEF is (the financial mechanism for the CBD and UNFCCC, not a research institute or an OECD arm), while UPPSC tests when it was created and who funds it. Together they cover the whole question area.
Arrange the following events in chronological order and select the correct answer from the codes given below : I. Rio Earth Summit II. Publication of Brundtland Commission Report III. Enforcement of Montreal Protocol IV. Publication of 'The Limit to Growth' Report Codes :
- (a) I, IV, III, II
- (b) IV, II, III, I
- (c) IV, III, II, I
- (d) IV, I, III, II
Answer(b) IV, II, III, I
The chronology this question's statement 1 sits inside — Limits to Growth (1972), Brundtland (1987), Montreal in force (1989), Rio (1992). The GEF was created in 1991, between the last two, and made permanent at Rio.
The "Agenda – 21" of Rio Summit, 1992 is related to -
- (a) Preservation of ozone layer
- (b) Sustainable development
- (c) Polluter – Pays principle
- (d) Environmental education
Answer(b) Sustainable development
The same 1992 Rio Earth Summit from the policy side. Agenda 21 was the Summit's action plan; the restructured GEF became the money that was supposed to pay for it.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Global Environment Facility serves as the financial mechanism for which of the following? 1. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 2. Convention on Biological Diversity 3. Minamata Convention on Mercury
- (a)1 and 2 only
- (b)2 and 3 only
- (c)1 and 3 only
- (d)1, 2 and 3
Answer(d) 1, 2 and 3 — the GEF is the designated financial mechanism for all three, and also for the UNCCD and the Stockholm Convention.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Global Environment Facility was restructured into a permanent, independent institution in the wake of which event?
- (a)Stockholm Conference, 1972
- (b)Rio Earth Summit, 1992
- (c)Kyoto Protocol, 1997
- (d)Johannesburg Summit, 2002
Answer(b) Rio Earth Summit, 1992 — it had been launched in 1991 as a pilot programme inside the World Bank.