巴黎气候峰会通过气候新协议

 PARIS—Delegates of more than 190 nations meeting in Paris adopted a historic accord Saturday that aims to slow the pace of global warming and for the first time asks all countries to limit their greenhouse gas emissions¹.

Announcement of the final agreement Saturday evening was greeted with cheers, hugs and prolonged applause at the conference hall in Paris.

The final draft of the agreement was circulated several hours before the meeting concluded, after an all-night work session in which the text was shortened from 43 to 31 pages and simplified.

The agreement aims to keep global temperature increases below two degrees Celsius², provide $100 billion in climate investment to poorer countries, review progress every five years, and peak carbon emissions as soon as possible.

Nations Unanimously Adopt Paris Climate Agreement

In a statement from the White House Saturday evening, President Obama called the agreement "the best chance we’ve had to save the one planet that we’ve got."

"So I believe this moment can be a turning point for the world," he said.  "We’ve shown that the world has both the will and the ability to take on this challenge."

The president also said that while those who oppose taking action to limit carbon emissions say that doing so will "kill jobs," the agreement will actually create "more of the jobs and economic growth driven by low-carbon investment."

In a tweet, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the deal was "truly a global effort & signals we’re all in this together."

But Senator James Inhofe, the Republican chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, compared the agreement to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol³, which President Bill Clinton signed in 1998 but was never ratified⁴ by the U.S. Senate.

"This agreement is no more binding⁵ than any other 'agreement' from any Conference of the Parties over the last 21 years. Senate leadership has already been outspoken⁶ in its positions that the United States is not legally bound to any agreement setting emissions targets or any financial commitment to it without approval by Congress," Inhofe said.

The deal culminates⁷ negotiations⁸ that have gone on for years, and is the most wide-ranging climate agreement since the Kyoto accord.

On Saturday night, a day after an original self-imposed deadline, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, in the absence of any last minute objections, lay down a gavel and declared the 31-page document had been formally and unanimously adopted.

“This is a small gavel, but it has done big things,” Fabius said.

Fabius joined and raised hands with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and others in a gesture of triumph and celebration.

The agreement was adopted after a plea by Ban in the final hours of negotiations.

“The time has come to acknowledge that national interests are best served by acting⁹ in the global interest and solidarity,” he told delegates earlier Saturday.

Divvy up responsibility

One key issue not addressed in the agreement is how richer countries and poorer countries should divide up responsibility to pay for climate change programs.

Giving the talks momentum¹⁰ was the presence of so many world leaders at the start, with the determination to take centralized, collective action.

On Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama had said, “This is a turning point, that this is the moment we finally determined¹¹ we would save our planet, is the fact that our nations share a sense of urgency about this challenge and a growing realization¹² that it is within our power to do something about it."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had held round-the-clock meetings to make the agreement happen. He earlier announced a U.S. pledge to double climate investment to about $800 million in the most vulnerable countries.

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The draft sets a goal of $100 billion a year in climate financing for poor nations by 2020.

The deal was reached despite opposition¹⁴ led by India, China, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. They argued industrialized nations should shoulder more of the burden.

These nations’ economies are dependent on fossil fuels and the transition to greener energy will be especially painful for them.

French President Francois Hollande, the conference’s host, called on nations to think collectively.

“An agreement will not be perfect for anyone if they read it only with their interests in mind. But it’s for everyone’s good.”

'Act for humanity'

Hollande called adoption¹⁵ of the draft “a major act for humanity.”

There was some reluctance¹⁶ from African nations, but in the end, they are getting billions of dollars in pledges to fund green energy projects.

France alone committed to spending more than $2 billion.

South African Environment Minister Edna Molewa said her country never expected a perfect agreement. “It’s a give and take situation in the negotiations. And indeed what comes out of here, we will know that some people may not be happy about this, not happy about that, and so forth,” she said. “But we are here."

The final deal falls short of the 2 degree target on slowing global warming and developing nations did not get the compensation they wanted from rich countries for environmental damage, but organizers call it historic and say it likely marks a new era of common, global efforts on climate change.

1 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

2 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

3 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

4 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

5 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

6 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

7 culminates   

v.达到极点( culminate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Each civilization is born, it culminates, and it decay. 各种文明都要历经诞生，鼎盛和衰落。 来自《用法词典》
• The tower culminates in a 40-foot spire. 这塔的顶端是一个40英尺高的塔尖。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

10 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

11 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

12 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

13 captions   

n.标题，说明文字，字幕( caption的名词复数 )v.给（图片、照片等）加说明文字( caption的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• I stared, trying to grasp the point of the picture and the captions. 我目不转睛地看着漫画，想弄清楚漫画和解说词的意思。 来自辞典例句
• Indicates whether the user or the system paints the captions. 指示是由用户还是由系统来绘制标题。 来自互联网

14 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

15 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

16 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。