Given below are a few sentences with one blank in each. Below each sentence are given four words among which one word might fill the blank. If none of the words fill the blank to form a meaningful sentence, choose option 5 ‘None of the above’ as your answer. The government's new policy aimed at promoting renewable energy sources is a crucial step towards ___________ the harmful effects of climate change and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.

The sentence discusses the government's policy aimed at reducing the harmful effects of climate change and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. "Mitigating" means taking steps to lessen or alleviate the negative impacts of something, which fits the context of the sentence. The other options are incorrect: b) Maligning: This word means speaking ill of or criticizing, which is not the intended meaning in the context of the sentence. c) Minimizing: While this word means reducing something to the smallest possible extent, it doesn't convey the positive intent of the government policy. a) Manipulating: This word means handling or controlling something in a skilful or deceptive way, which is not aligned with the context of promoting renewable energy.