Question

The Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 was called:

• A. to reduce CO2 emissions and global warming.
• B. for conservation of biodiversity and sustainable utilization of its benefits.
• C. to assess threat posed to native species by invasive weed species.
• D. for immediate steps to discontinue use of CFCs that were damaging the ozone layer.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

The Earth Summit, officially known as the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It is considered one of the most significant environmental events in history and focused primarily on the following key areas:

1. Conservation of Biodiversity: The summit emphasized the importance of conserving biological diversity and sustainable use of its components. This became one of the major themes of the Earth Summit.
2. Sustainable Development: It aimed to address the issues of sustainable utilization of environmental resources.
3. Agenda 21: It led to the formulation of Agenda 21, a comprehensive plan of action to build a global partnership for sustainable development.

Now, let’s evaluate the given options:

• Option 1: "To reduce CO2 emissions and global warming."—While this is a relevant environmental concern, the primary focus of the Earth Summit was broader and covered various environmental and developmental issues, not solely CO2 emissions.
• Option 2: "For conservation of biodiversity and sustainable utilization of its benefits."—This option directly reflects the key areas addressed in the Earth Summit, particularly the Convention on Biological Diversity, which was one of the legally binding agreements resulting from the summit.
• Option 3: "To assess threat posed to native species by invasive weed species."—This issue is specific and was not the primary focus of the Earth Summit.
• Option 4: "For immediate steps to discontinue use of CFCs that were damaging the ozone layer."—The Montreal Protocol, prior to the summit, addressed CFCs more specifically. The Earth Summit focused on many pressing environmental issues.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 2: for conservation of biodiversity and sustainable utilization of its benefits.