UPSC Prelims 2016 · Question 23 of 98

UPSC Prelims 2016 question on Sdgs Club of Rome

Consider the following statements:

1. The Sustainable Development Goals were first proposed in 1972 by a global think tank called the ‘Club of Rome’.

2. The Sustainable Development Goals have to be achieved by 2030.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: B. 2 only

Verdict

The answer is 2 only. The Sustainable Development Goals are to be achieved by 2030, but they were not proposed by the Club of Rome in 1972.

Analysis

Statement 2 is CORRECT. The Goals were adopted by 193 member nations through a United Nations General Assembly resolution in September 2015, with a target horizon of 2030. Statement 1 is INCORRECT. The Club of Rome is a global think tank whose 1972 book Limits to Growth did discuss sustainability and the ecological limits of growth, but it did not propose the Sustainable Development Goals, which emerged four decades later from the Rio plus twenty process and the Millennium Development Goals.

Source

The Hindu report on the United Nations adopting the new set of global goals.

How to crack it

The trap here is a genuine intellectual ancestor presented as the direct originator. Limits to Growth really is part of the prehistory of sustainability thinking, which is what makes the statement feel plausible. Distinguish influenced by from proposed by, because UPSC builds statements on exactly that slippage. Then anchor the chain: Stockholm 1972, Brundtland 1987, Rio 1992, Millennium Goals 2000, Rio plus twenty 2012, Sustainable Development Goals 2015 for 2030.

More questions on Miscellaneous Environment and Ecology

All 21 questions on Miscellaneous Environment and Ecology →

← Full 2016 question paper · All Environment and Ecology questions