Passage - 1 Over the next 30 years, many countries are promising to move to net-zero carbon, implying that…
Passage - 1
Over the next 30 years, many countries are promising to move to net-zero carbon, implying that household emissions will have to be cut to close to nothing. A leading climate scientist reckons that, at best, half the reduction might be achieved through demand-side measures, such as behavioural changes by individuals and households. And even that would require companies and governments to provide more incentives to change through supply-side investments to make low-carbon options cheaper and more widely available.
Which one of the following statements best reflects the central idea conveyed by the passage?
Moving to net-zero carbon is possible only by the reduction in household emissions.
Low-carbon behaviour in people can be brought about by incentivising them.
Cheaper goods and services can be made available to people by using low-carbon technologies.
Manufacturing industries that use low-carbon technologies should be provided with subsidies.
Solution
The passage stresses that demand-side behavioural changes alone achieve at best half the reduction, and even that requires companies and governments to provide incentives. The central idea is that low-carbon behaviour can be induced in people by incentivising them. Option (a) overstates household emissions, while (c) and (d) are supporting details, not the main idea.