Question:

From the given options, choose the sentence that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.

Trade protectionism, disguised as concern for the climate, is raising its head. Citing competitiveness concerns, powerful industrialized countries are holding out threats of a levy on imports of energy-intensive products from developing countries that refuse to accept their demands. The actual source of protectionist sentiment in the OECD countries is, of course, their current lacklustre economic performance, combined with the challenges posed by the rapid economic rise of China and India - in that order.

Show Hint

The last sentence says the real source is the rich countries' own weak economy, and only then the rise of China and India. Look for the sentence that sums up who is posing as what.
Updated On: Nov 4, 2026
  • Defenders of the global economic status quo are posing as climate change champions.
  • OECD countries are taking refuge in climate change issues to erect trade barriers against these two countries.
  • Climate change concerns have come as a convenient stick to beat the rising trade power of China and India.
  • Climate change is evoked to bring trade protectionism through the back door.
  • Today’s climate change champions are the perpetrators of global economic inequity.
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The Correct Option is A

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Trace the argument:
The paragraph says (a) protectionism is disguised as climate concern; (b) industrialized countries threaten a levy on imports from developing countries; (c) the real source is the OECD countries' own poor economic performance, plus the rise of China and India, 'in that order'. The closing sentence should draw a conclusion about who is doing the posing and why.

Step 2: Test the options:
(4) "Climate change is evoked to bring trade protectionism through the back door." - Only repeats the opening sentence; adds nothing new.
(2) "OECD countries are taking refuge in climate change issues to erect trade barriers against these two countries." - Also repeats earlier points, and blames only China and India, ignoring the 'in that order' emphasis on the OECD's own weakness.
(3) "Climate change concerns have come as a convenient stick to beat the rising trade power of China and India." - Gives only the second cause, which downplays the 'in that order' emphasis, and is again repetition.
(1) "Defenders of the global economic status quo are posing as climate change champions." - Fits. It generalizes: the OECD countries, whose position is threatened by the rise of China and India and by their own weak economy, want to protect the existing economic order and are pretending to champion the climate.
(5) "Today’s climate change champions are the perpetrators of global economic inequity." - Too extreme; the paragraph says nothing about global economic inequity.

Step 3: Conclude:
Option (1) is the only one that completes the paragraph with a fresh, supported conclusion.

Final Answer:
The correct option is (1): Defenders of the global economic status quo are posing as climate change champions.
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