Each question below has two blanks, which is indicating that something has been omitted. Choose the most suitable option indicating the words that can be used to fill up the blanks in the sentences to make them meaningfully complete. While the international summit produced ambitious goals, critics argue that the agreements lacked a clear mechanism to ______ emissions reductions or to ______ nations that failed to comply.

Enforce: to compel observance of or compliance with a law, rule, or obligation. You enforce emissions reductions by ensuring countries follow the targets. Penalize: to subject to punishment for breaking rules or failing obligations. Fits perfectly with the idea of non-compliant nations. b) implement, prosecute Implement is usually used for policies or programs, not reductions directly.  Prosecute involves legal action through courts, not typically applicable in international climate agreements, which lack legal jurisdiction. c) execute, reprimand Execute can mean “carry out,” but like implement, it’s awkward with “emissions reductions.”  Reprimand is a mild, verbal scolding, too soft and informal for state-level consequences. d) monitor, convict Monitor emissions might make sense in another context, but monitor ≠ enforce — it implies observing, not ensuring action. Convict is strictly a legal term for individual criminal guilt, not applicable to sovereign nations. e) regulate, condemn Regulate doesn’t directly apply to emissions reductions, but rather the industries or practices causing them.  Condemn is moral or political disapproval, not a concrete consequence, so it lacks the accountability force implied in the sentence.