Read the given passage and answer the following questions based on it.…
2023
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 prepandemic 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.
What is the significance of limiting atmospheric warming to around 1.5 degrees Celsius, as mentioned by the IPCC?
- A.
It prevents all climate-related changes.
- B.
It ensures immediate reductions in emissions.
- C.
It avoids the need for future climate action.
- D.
It reduces the risk of severe climate impacts.
- E.
It guarantees economic growth.
Attempted by 1 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept
In a reading-comprehension question of this kind, the answer must be drawn ONLY from what the passage actually asserts. A claim is correct if the text directly supports it, and a distractor is wrong if it is stronger, narrower, or different from what the passage says. The task is to match each choice against the exact statement in the text about the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold.
Application
The passage attributes the 1.5 degrees Celsius figure to the IPCC and states that limiting warming to around this level is described as “a crucial step towards controlling the severity of climate change.” In other words, holding warming near 1.5 degrees Celsius lessens how severe the climate consequences become. The statement “It reduces the risk of severe climate impacts” restates precisely this idea, so it is the supported answer.
Contrast
“It prevents all climate-related changes” — the passage never claims warming is prevented entirely; the text speaks of controlling severity, not eliminating all change, so this overstates the claim.
“It ensures immediate reductions in emissions” — the passage says emissions must peak by 2025 at the latest, which is a future target, not an immediate cut, so this misreads the timeline.
“It avoids the need for future climate action” — the passage stresses that time is running out and the curve must urgently be bent, which is the opposite of removing the need for further action.
“It guarantees economic growth” — economic growth is not the subject of the 1.5 degrees Celsius statement at all; the passage links the threshold to climate severity, not to growth.
Result
The choice that the passage directly supports is that limiting warming to around 1.5 degrees Celsius reduces the risk of severe climate impacts.