CAT 2020 Slot 2 VARC Question & Solution
Passage
The passage below is accompanied by a set of questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
In a low-carbon world, renewable energy technologies are hot business. For investors looking to redirect funds, wind turbines and solar panels, among other technologies, seem a straightforward choice. But renewables need to be further scrutinized before being championed as forging a path toward a low-carbon future. Both the direct and indirect impacts of renewable energy must be examined to ensure that a climate-smart future does not intensify social and environmental harm. As renewable energy production requires land, water, and labor, among other inputs, it imposes costs on people and the environment. Hydropower projects, for instance, have led to community dispossession and exclusion . . . Renewable energy supply chains are also intertwined with mining, and their technologies contribute to growing levels of electronic waste . Furthermore, although renewable energy can be produced and distributed through small-scale, local systems, such an approach might not generate the high returns on investment needed to attract capital.
Although an emerging sector, renewables are enmeshed in long-standing resource extraction through their dependence on minerals and metals . . . Scholars document the negative consequences of mining . . . even for mining operations that commit to socially responsible practices[:] “many of the world’s largest reservoirs of minerals like cobalt, copper, lithium, [and] rare earth minerals”—the ones needed for renewable technologies—“are found in fragile states and under communities of marginalized peoples in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.” Since the demand for metals and minerals will increase substantially in a renewable-powered future . . . this intensification could exacerbate the existing consequences of extractive activities.
Among the connections between climate change and waste, O’Neill . . . highlights that “devices developed to reduce our carbon footprint, such as lithium batteries for hybrid and electric cars or solar panels[,] become potentially dangerous electronic waste at the end of their productive life.” The disposal of toxic waste has long perpetuated social injustice through the flows of waste to the Global South and to marginalized communities in the Global North . . .
While renewable energy is a more recent addition to financial portfolios, investments in the sector must be considered in light of our understanding of capital accumulation. As agricultural finance reveals, the concentration of control of corporate activity facilitates profit generation. For some climate activists, the promise of renewables rests on their ability not only to reduce emissions but also to provide distributed, democratized access to energy . . . But Burke and Stephens . . . caution that “renewable energy systems offer a possibility but not a certainty for more democratic energy futures.” Small-scale, distributed forms of energy are only highly profitable to institutional investors if control is consolidated somewhere in the financial chain. Renewable energy can be produced at the household or neighborhood level. However, such small-scale, localized production is unlikely to generate high returns for investors. For financial growth to be sustained and expanded by the renewable sector, production and trade in renewable energy technologies will need to be highly concentrated, and large asset management firms will likely drive those developments.
Question 1
Which one of the following statements best captures the main argument of the last paragraph of the passage?
Solution:
The last paragraph talks about how renewable energy can be produced at local or household level but it also talks about the roadblocks in terms of financing. Hence it portrays two sides of the coin, talking about both the positives and negatives. Thus we can fairly conclude that renewable energy is a double edged sword. Option1 is the correct answer.
Question 2
Which one of the following statements, if true, could be an accurate inference from the first paragraph of the passage?
Solution:
Look at these lines from the first paragraph of the passage, "But renewables need to be further scrutinized before being championed as forging a path toward a low-carbon future. Both the direct and indirect impacts of renewable energy must be examined to ensure that a climate-smart future does not intensify social and environmental harm. As renewable energy production requires land, water, and labor, among other inputs, it imposes costs on people and the environment."
These lines clearly indicate that the author has reservations about the renewable energy systems.
Option (2) is factually incorrect. Option 3 is beyond the scope of the passage. No comparison has been made as such. Option (4) is partially correct. The author has reservations about profitability and various other factors too which is accurately captured by the first option.
Question 3
Which one of the following statements, if false, could be seen as best supporting the arguments in the passage?
Solution:
Here we have to look at those options which if false will support the author's arguments. Look at the option 2. It states that renewable energy have little or no environmental impact. Its negation will be renewable energy have considerable environmental impact, this is what the author states throughout the passage, about the harmful impact of renewable energy. Hence option 2 is correct.
Question 4
All of the following statements, if true, could be seen as supporting the arguments in the passage, EXCEPT:
Solution:
Look at the last line of the passage," For financial growth to be sustained and expanded by the renewable sector, production and trade in renewable energy technologies will need to be highly concentrated, and large asset management firms will likely drive those developments " Nowhere it is mentioned that the negative impacts of renewable energy needs to be studied , for it to be financially viable. Hence option 4 is incorrect.
Question 5
Based on the passage, we can infer that the author would be most supportive of which one of the following practices?
Solution:
Let's look at the options one by one. Option 2 states "The study of the coexistence of marginalised people with their environments." This passage is about the impact of renewable energy on marginalized people, not about their coexistence. Hence ignore this option.
Option 3 states "Encouragement for the development of more environment-friendly carbon-based fuels". In the third paragraph, the author talks about reducing carbon footprint. Hence he will never support carbon based fuels. This option is incorrect.
Option 4 is completely negated by the last paragraph. The author talks about the financial viability of the localised small scale production. Hence this option too is incorrect.
Option 1 is completely correct."many of the world’s largest reservoirs of minerals like cobalt, copper, lithium, [and] rare earth minerals”—the ones needed for renewable technologies—“are found in fragile states and under communities of marginalized peoples in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.” Since the demand for metals and minerals will increase substantially in a renewable-powered future . . . this intensification could exacerbate the existing consequences of extractive activities."
This intensification could exacerbate the existing consequences, i.e. if propar disposal of toxic materials is not done it can make the conditions worse. Option 1 is the correct answer.