英伦广角 2009-08-30 气候警告

A global emissions¹-reduction deal: that's the ultimate goal of the UN's climate conference in Copenhagen. But with just a hundred days left before it takes place, that deal is looking shaky. In December, Delegates from some a hundred and ninety countries will head to Copenhagen to try to agree on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol². But while the negotiations³ will not be easy, the UK government remains⁴ optimistic.  Even here in the UK, where we have our own climate change bill, the government has struggled to make people understand the impact of their emissions which of course are invisible.

A new tool allows us to visualize⁵ all that carbon as a quilt trapping heat beneath it. For example, imagine if the quilt covered the whole world, this would be the size of the UK's annual contribution and this patch would represent the USA's carbon footprint.

But China has recently overtaken America as the world's largest emitter. Yet America has historically emitted far more than China. The Chinese government argues it has a moral right to grow its economy which will increase its emissions.

 But it's not just about cutting emissions, the campaign Oxfam here highlighting the current climate change risk to those invulnerable countries, in this case, sea level rise. One of the main arguments is over money. The UN reckons about a hundred billion dollars a year will be needed to adapt to the impacts of the climate change. But a new report from leading scientists says the cost has been severely⁶ underestimated.

The current UN estimates of the cost of adapting to climate change are probably 2 to 3 times too low. Instead of 100 billion dollars a year by 2030 that's 20 years time ,we need to build up to about 300 billion dollars a year.

The other big question is the United States, and whether president Obama will be in a position to sign up to anything globally significant in December. So the final detail of the plan to save the planet may have to wait a little longer.

Catherine Jacob, Sky News.

 

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 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 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。

4 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。

5 visualize   

vt.使看得见，使具体化，想象，设想

参考例句：

• I remember meeting the man before but I can't visualize him.我记得以前见过那个人，但他的样子我想不起来了。
• She couldn't visualize flying through space.她无法想像在太空中飞行的景象。

6 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。