The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) shows the relationship between per capita GDP and environmental loss. What is the shape of Environmental Kuznets Curve?

The correct answer is A. The Environmental Kuznets Curve is an inverted U. Environmental degradation rises in the early stages of growth, peaks at a middle income level, and then falls as income keeps rising. The idea was popularised by Grossman and Krueger's 1991 study on NAFTA and is named after Simon Kuznets, whose 1955 inverted U linked inequality with income.

Why the others are wrong:

• B (inverted V): a V implies a sharp peak with no smooth turning. The EKC is a rounded hump.
• C (inverted L): an L means degradation rises and then stays on a plateau. The EKC predicts a decline after the turning point, so this is wrong.
• D: incorrect, since A is the standard shape.

Core concept: the EKC rests on scale, composition and technology effects. Early growth is dirty, but richer societies can afford cleaner technology and stricter regulation. This feeds the Mains debate on whether growth and environment must trade off, and on India's policies for cleaner fuels and the polluter-pays principle.

The EKC is empirical, not a law. Evidence is stronger for local pollutants such as SO2 than for CO2 or biodiversity loss.

Trap: candidates confuse the EKC with the Kuznets inequality curve, or pick V because the peak looks pointed. The shape is a rounded hump.