Question 1:

Every year on June 5th, World Environment Day is commemorated to raise environmental
awareness among the general public. Tezpur University's department of environmental science
and department of energy organized really lovely activities in honor of World Environment Day.

• Environmental Science Department:

On Earth Day, the EVS department's main topic was 'Only one earth.' On June 5, 2022, the EVS
department arranged a variety of programs.

The programs began with the lighting of a lamp, followed by guest felicitation. The chief guest
then presented the inauguration address. The day began with the planting of saplings. A session
on "Segregating and managing garbage for sustainable living" was also held by the department.

They also held an essay writing and art competition for kids in grades 1 through 12. They also
organized environmental activities for pupils in grades 5 through 7.

• Energy Department:

Tezpur University's Department of Energy also hosted a number of environmental-themed events.

"Together, let us construct a better world," was their theme. They held a rally on the topic of
"Waste-to-Energy Conversion." They also hosted a poster contest and a quiz competition.

• DIET Kamrup:

DIET Kamrup commemorated World Environment Day. They drove around the plantation in the
morning, escorted by Librarian B Rajbongshi. The environmental activist delivered a virtual
lecture on World Environment Day as part of DIET's guest of the month programme. Apurba
Ballah Goswami, a prominent environmental activist and journalist, has asked the forest
department to expand afforestation drives in order to save the indigenous flora and fauna.

• Sonapur College:

The day was commemorated in the Sonapur College auditorium by the regional office of the
Assam Pollution Control Board, in partnership with Sonapur College and Assam Science
Technology and Environment Technology (ASTEC). The conference was preceded by a tree-
planting program, which began with a welcome speech by Dr. Devabrata Khanikar, Principal of
Sonapur College. Samiran Bardoloi, a Sonapur environmental activist, lectured about "seed
bombing," explaining how to conserve top soil and develop a food forest.

1|Page
 • Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden:

Dr. Ashwini Kumar, DFO, Assam State Zoo, led a plantation drive to kick off the event. AFC etc.
Dr. Priyasa Saikia Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary and Mayang College hosted the event, which drew
565 kids from 20 different schools.

• Guwahati University NSS Cell:

Guwahati University's NSS cell, in collaboration with the Post Graduate Students Union, held a
plantation drive on campus to commemorate the day. They planted roughly 200 seedlings
throughout the hostel grounds.

• Green chapter foundation - NGO:

This non-profit organization is dedicated to environmental protection. They marked the occasion
with an environmental awareness program and the distribution of hundreds of saplings to
schoolchildren. Sudmerson Hall also hosted an intern school prize money quiz tournament on this
day.

Participants thought that using plays was the most effective means of communicating. This means
that audio-visual teaching and communication approaches that stimulate interaction and keep
participants engaged are preferred by children and young people. For students to receive all
knowledge about the environment and the necessity for its conservation, they cannot rely solely
on what they learn in school. We need to learn more about the environment outside of the
classroom. Bringing children and teens closer to their surroundings or nature instils in them a
desire to learn about nature, as well as personal well-being, self-confidence, and initiative. As a
result, environmental protection is our primary responsibility.

Various educational institutions and other organizations throughout the world have organized a
variety of initiatives to raise public awareness about the need of environmental safety and
measures.

The discussion regarding environmental conservation should not be limited to educational

institutions or organizations in a country like India, where the majority of people come from a
farming or agriculture background.

More people will join actively in environmental protection initiatives if there is an open discussion
on the need for and steps to be taken to protect and enrich the environment in backward places.

2|Page
Because the success of some programs is totally dependent on the participation of people,
environmental protection projects may be made more appealing if specific people with higher
social media clout participate.

We must understand that the environment supports our lives in all ways and makes life possible
on Earth feasible, and that conserving the environment is our primary responsibility.

Question 2

Conference of the Parties (COP) is an acronym for "Conference of the Parties." The 26th United
Nations Climate Change Conference was held in Scotland, and it is known as Cop 26. It took place
from October 31 to November 13, 2021. Alok Sharma, a UK cabinet member, was the conference's
president.

From June 3 to 14, 1992, Brazil hosted the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED), better known as the Earth Summit. This symposium demonstrated how
various social, economic, and environmental forces interact and co-evolve. The primary goal of
the Earth Summit in Brazil was to build a wide agenda and a new blueprint for international action
on environmental and development challenges that would aid and lead international business and
development policy in the twenty-first century.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological
Diversity were both established as a result of the Earth Summit. The ultimate goal of the UNFCCC
is to achieve the stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that
prevents hazardous climate change.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) entered into force on
March 21, 1994. It now has almost universal membership. Parties to the convention are the 197
countries that have reunified the convention. More than 130 countries have promised to achieve
carbon neutrality by 2050, including India, which has set a target of zero emissions by 2070.

The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the decision-making body in charge of monitoring and
reviewing the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change's implementation.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) gathered 120
international leaders and over 40,000 registered participants, including 22,274 party delegates and
3886 media representatives, during COP26.

3|Page
The globe was focused for two weeks on the facts about climate change, the science behind it, and
political parties' responses and unambiguous indications of action. Many countries are still unable
to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. However, COP26 provided new building blocks for
advancing the Paris Agreement's implementation.

COP26 Agreement

1) Recognizing the emergency:

Countries reaffirmed their commitment to the Paris Agreement's objective of keeping global
average temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius per industrial level, with efforts to keep it
below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

2) Accelerating action:

Countries have emphasized the importance of action throughout this critical decade. Instead of
2050, COP26 urges all nations to present a strong national action plan by the end of the year.

3) Moving away from fossil fuel:

The countries ultimately agreed to phase down the coal power and phase out of inefficient Fossil
fuel subsidiaries. This is one of the major decisions of COP26.

4) Delivery on climate finance:

Developed countries failed to deliver US Dollar 100 billion a year for developing countries as per
promised. The COP26 reaffirms the pledge and urged developed countries to deliver on the US
Dollar 100 billion urgently.

5) Focusing on loss and damage:

Acknowledging that climate change is heavily increasing, impacts on people specially in

developing world, countries agreed to strengthen a network known as the Santiago network. They
also launched a new dialogue to discuss arrangements for the funding of activities to avail,
minimize and address loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change.

6) Forest:

137 countries took a landmark step forward by committing to hall and reverse forest and land
degradation by 2030.

4|Page
7) Methane:

103 countries including 15 major emitters, signed up to the global methane pledge, which aims to
limit methane emission to 30% by 2030 compared to 2020.

8) Cars:

Over 30 countries, 6 major vehicle manufacturers and other actors like cities, set out their
determination for all new cars and van sales to the zero emission vehicles by 2040 globally and
2035 in leading markets. Accelerating the decarbonization of road transport which currently
accounts for about 10% of global greenhouse gas emission.

COP26 is considered as very much important to take decision for reducing greenhouse gas
emissions. COP26 is also concerned about the increasing carbon and it tried to make 'net zero
carbon' by 2050.

However, developing countries like India it is not possible to make 'net zero carbon' immediately.
Because developing countries need carbon source to run industries and for other developing
activities.

5|Page