PBS高端访谈:里程碑式的气候变化协议对美国意味着什么?

 　　GWEN IFILL: The climate talks over the next two weeks are expected to become a turning point in the global debate over addressing the causes of a rapidly warming planet.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Joining me now for further analysis of the climate change summit accord is Michael Levi. He is a senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations here in New York.

　　So, the big question is, what does this mean for United States?

　　MICHAEL LEVI, Council on Foreign Relations: For the United States, this means that we are done with 20 years of fighting over the basic architecture of an international agreement, and if we flesh this out right, we will have a framework where we can have more insight into what other countries are doing, a regular process for pressing them to do more, and some greater certainty about the international structure that we are working within.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: These are big compromises that are made between a lot of different countries.

　　What did the United States want that it didn't get?

　　里程碑式的气候变化协议对美国意味着什么

　　MICHAEL LEVI: I think the United States would have liked essentially¹ no distinction in the agreement between developed and developing countries.

　　This has been the fight for years. It would have liked exactly the same language about obligations for developed and developing countries on transparency, on updating their commitments, on what those commitments would look like, the basic elements of a deal.

　　They got a lot of those distinctions removed, but there are still bits and pieces of that in the agreement. And that's a sign that we will still continue to fight about those over the next year and in the years to come.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Now, you were in Paris. I heard there was actually not quite a scuffle, but a disagreement on the word, whether it should be shall or should, right, whether countries shall make these commitments and these reductions and economic changes or should.

　　I mean, now it's basically — it went towards should, and everything seems rather voluntary.

　　MICHAEL LEVI: Ultimately, all of these steps are voluntary.

　　We saw in the Kyoto protocol² that we had mandatory³ requirements, legally binding⁴ requirements that countries didn't adhere to anyhow. So, I think we can get overly obsessed⁵ with should vs. shall.

　　The critical distinction that the United States was focused on there is that shall would have sent the agreement to the Senate for ratification⁶, where it would have died, and should allows it to actually exist.

　　So, better to have an agreement that is not absolutely perfect, but that exists, than one that you love, but can never fly.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: So, what are the commitments that the United States has to make now, even though it doesn't have to go to Congress? I mean, will we have to create some laws to say, here is how we are going to decrease our emissions⁷?

　　MICHAEL LEVI: So, there are two basic elements here.

　　First, the United States has made a pledge to reduce its emissions by 26 to 28 percent below their 2005 levels by 2025. Without new policies, we are not going to get there. Whether we need new laws or just new regulations under existing law remains⁸ to be determined⁹ and will depend not only on politics, but on how technology and the economy evolves.

　　So, there's that piece on U.S. emissions. The other is that the agreement is going to include rules for transparency, for review of countries' efforts, for updating of countries efforts. The details of those could matter a lot.

　　And it will be not only China and India and others who are scrutinized¹⁰, but the United States that is scrutinized. So, U.S. negotiators will be looking to nail that down.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: And every five years, we sort of have to say, here is what we're going to try to do. And everything else can see this, and we can see what everyone else is doing.

　　MICHAEL LEVI: That's right.

　　So, we have said, here's what we're going to do between now and 2025. Some time between today and 2020, we will extend that to a 2030 goal to align¹¹ it with other countries. And then everyone will participate in this regular five-year process.

　　What worked in this past year was, the spotlight¹² Paris shone got countries to actually go work on serious policies that could reduce emissions. And the hope is that, if you do that every five years, you can mobilize that same kind of political focus.

　　And that's the fundamental thing here, is, this is a recognition this is not a technical, legal effort.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Yes.

　　MICHAEL LEVI: It's about driving better politics that enable better policy on climate change.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: All right, Michael Levi from the Council on Foreign Relations, thanks so much for joining us.

　　MICHAEL LEVI: My pleasure.

 

1 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

2 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。

3 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

4 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。

5 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

6 ratification   

n.批准，认可

参考例句：

• The treaty is awaiting ratification.条约正等待批准。
• The treaty is subject to ratification.此条约经批准后才能生效。

7 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。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 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。

10 scrutinized   

v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The jeweler scrutinized the diamond for flaws. 宝石商人仔细察看钻石有无瑕庇 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Together we scrutinized the twelve lemon cakes from the delicatessen shop. 我们一起把甜食店里买来的十二块柠檬蛋糕细细打量了一番。 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比

11 align   

vt.使成一线，结盟，调节；vi.成一线，结盟

参考例句：

• Align the ruler and the middle of the paper.使尺子与纸张的中部成一条直线。
• There are signs that the prime minister is aligning himself with the liberals.有迹象表明首相正在与自由党人结盟。

12 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。