Emissions and technological transition - crucial message
Question
Which one of the following statements best reflects the crucial message conveyed by the author of the passage?
Options
Businesses that cause emissions may need to close down or pay for pollution in future.
The only solution is technological development related to the issues of climate change.
Waiting to deal with carbon emissions until technology improves is not a wise strategy.
Since future technological change is uncertain, new industries should be based on renewable energy sources.
Explanation
The author outlines a severe dilemma: current emissions have delayed effects, and relying blindly on speculative, future technological fixes to make the green transition cheap is a massive gamble. By comparing this risk to businesses that fail when they do not "hedge against the threat of uncertain outcomes," the author directly attacks passive postponement. The crucial message is a warning against delayed action. Option (c) perfectly encapsulates this. Option (b) introduces an unhelpful absolute ("the only solution"), while options (a) and (d) shift focus to narrower business policy mandates not explicitly defended in the passage[cite: 2915, 2916, 2924, 2925, 2926, 2927].
Answer: (c).
Question details
Year
2023
Paper
CSAT
Question
Q11
Section
Reading Comprehension
Sub-topic
Environment passage
Type
RC - Critical message
Difficulty
Medium
Source hint
Passage-based comprehension
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