GARP Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR) Certificate · International · Global Association of Risk Professionals
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersThe rules: principles of environmental law, the major multilateral agreements and how national laws implement them. India's Acts are examined in GATE ES and UGC NET; the manual uses them as the worked example and states where other countries differ. Trade and agricultural policy are in the Agribusiness track.
In the exams: GATE ES Section 9 (Water and Air Acts, EPA 1986, NGT Act, international treaties); ICAR AICE subject 71 Units 2–3; UGC NET Unit 8; UPSC CSE (heavily asked)
How our questions for GARP Sustainability and Climate Risk Certificate spread across the units of Environmental Law, Policy & International Agreements. Difficulty: 0 easy, 11 medium, 16 hard.
| Policy instruments: regulation, economic instruments, information, voluntary | 5 | |
| UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement | 5 | |
| Environmental policy and national environment policies | 4 | |
| Public participation, access to information and environmental justice | 4 | |
| Principles: polluter pays, precautionary, prevention, sustainable development | 3 | |
| Environmental courts and tribunals | 3 | |
| Montreal Protocol and its amendments | 2 | |
| National framework laws: water, air and environment protection acts | 1 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
Which arbitration is the classic source of the principle that a state must not allow its territory to be used to cause serious environmental harm to another state?
B. Trail Smelter (United States v. Canada)
The Trail Smelter arbitration (1938–41), on sulphur fumes from a Canadian smelter damaging US farms, established the no-harm principle later restated in Stockholm Principle 21 and Rio Principle 2. The other cases are later ICJ cases on related issues.
Further reading: Trail Smelter arbitration
At what level should a Pigouvian tax be set?
A. Equal to marginal external damage at the efficient output
A Pigouvian tax internalises the externality by charging the marginal external damage at the socially efficient level, so firms abate until marginal abatement cost equals the tax. Product price, profit or zero do not achieve efficiency.
Further reading: Perman et al.
In the same example (MAC_A = 2q, MAC_B = 6q, 100 t to abate), total cost with uniform 50 t each is 10000. What is the total cost with efficient trading?
A. 7500
Cost = area under MAC: A abating 75 t costs 75² = 5625; B abating 25 t costs 3 × 25² = 1875; total 7500, saving 2500. 10000 is the uniform case; 2500 is the saving, not the cost; 15000 is invented.
According to the Coase theorem, when can private bargaining reach an efficient outcome for an externality?
C. When property rights are clear and transaction costs are low
Coase argued that with well-defined rights and negligible transaction costs, parties bargain to efficiency regardless of who holds the rights. For diffuse pollution with many parties, transaction costs are high, so the result rarely holds.
Further reading: Coase 1960
What was the main structural weakness of the Kyoto Protocol that the Paris Agreement addressed?
B. Binding targets covered only developed countries, missing emerging-economy growth
Kyoto's top-down targets covered only Annex B parties, while emissions grew fastest in emerging economies; Paris requires NDCs from all parties. Kyoto targets varied by country, covered six gases and required reporting.
Further reading: Climate regime literature
What does the European Climate Law (2021) set as the EU's 2030 target?
A. A net emissions cut of at least 55 % below 1990
The European Climate Law makes climate neutrality by 2050 binding and sets a net reduction of at least 55 % by 2030 compared with 1990. The 20 % target belonged to the 2020 package.
Further reading: Regulation (EU) 2021/1119
Which international court issued an advisory opinion in 2025 on states' obligations in respect of climate change?
A. The International Court of Justice
The ICJ delivered its advisory opinion in July 2025, following an ITLOS advisory opinion in 2024. The ICC deals with individual criminal liability; the WTO Appellate Body is trade-focused; the PCIJ ceased in 1946.
Further reading: ICJ Advisory Opinion 2025
Which element of the EU's Farm to Fork agenda was withdrawn in 2024 after farmer protests?
C. The pesticide-halving proposal
The Commission withdrew the Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products Regulation proposal, which aimed to halve pesticide use and risk by 2030. The Climate Law, Nitrates Directive and Ecolabel remain in force.
Further reading: European Commission 2024
Which regional agreement for Latin America and the Caribbean was the first to include provisions protecting environmental human rights defenders?
B. The Escazú Agreement
The Escazú Agreement (2018, in force 2021) guarantees access rights and protects environmental defenders. Cartagena concerns biosafety; the others are not this agreement.
Further reading: Escazú Agreement 2018
Which UN General Assembly resolution recognised the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment in 2022?
D. Resolution 76/300
Resolution 76/300 (July 2022) recognised the right, following Human Rights Council resolution 48/13 (2021). Resolution 70/1 adopted the SDGs; 217A is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; 1803 concerns permanent sovereignty over natural resources.
Further reading: UNGA 76/300
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