Leaders of the G8 developed nations wound up talks in Italy Friday with a pledge of $20 billion to boost food supplies in poor nations. Commitments to food security and to stem global warming were among the highlights of the meeting.
工业化八国集团领导人星期五结束在意大利的会谈时承诺,向贫穷国家提供200亿美元,增加这些国家的食品供应。这次会议的重要内容包括对食品安全的承诺以及抑制全球气候变暖等。
U.S. President Barack Obama said this was a summit of consensus - on dealing with the global economic crisis, climate change, on nuclear non-proliferation, on Iran - and a pledge to help achieve food security for the poorest countries.
美国总统奥巴马说,这是会议在应对全球经济危机、气候变化、以及核不扩散和伊朗等问题上取得了共识,还对帮助最贫穷国家实现食品安全做出承诺。
"We have committed $20 billion in food security, agricultural development programs to help fight world hunger. This is in addition to emergency humanitarian aid that we provide," he said.
奥巴马总统说:“我们承诺拨款200亿美元,用于食品安全、农业发展项目,帮助战胜全球性饥饿。这是在我们提供的紧急人道援助基础上附加的援助。”
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization welcomed the announcement, as an "encouraging policy shift to help the poor and hungry.
联合国粮农组织欢迎这个消息,认为这是为了帮助贫穷国家和挨饿的人们而做出的令人鼓舞的政策转变。
Many international aid organizations are cautiously positive. Development activist Kumi Naido of the Global Campaign Against Hunger, remains skeptical until more details of the plan become clear.
许多国际援助组织反应尽管积极,但却谨慎。全球反饥饿行动共同主席库米·奈杜(Kumi Naidoo)表示,在更多的细节公布之前,他对这个计划仍持怀疑态度。
"We would see this as a belated small step in the right direction. How much of it is in the right direction will depend on the details because one of the favorite pastimes of the G8 is recycling old commitments and one of the things our researchers are looking at now is whether this is in fact a restating of old commitments," said Naido.
奈杜说:“我们会把这个计划看成是朝着正确方面迈出的一小步,尽管有些迟了。其中多大成分是正确的,还要看它的细节,因为重复旧的承诺是八国集团喜欢的消遣方式之一,因此我们的研究人员现在要确定的是到底这次是不是把过去的承诺重说了一遍。”
Aid organizations have been calling on the G8 to live up to past pledges of food and development assistance.
援助组织一直在呼吁八国集团兑现过去做出的食品和发展援助承诺。
The L'Aquila summit also focused on climate change. G8 leaders and partners from major emerging economies, including India, China and Brazil, agreed that global temperatures should not rise by more than an average of two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
拉奎拉峰会还重点讨论了气候变化问题。八国集团领导人以及来自印度、中国和巴西等主要新兴经济体的合作伙伴一致同意,全球气温的上升幅度不得超过工业革命之前水平二摄氏度。
G8 members also pledged to work toward an 80 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050. While developing nations have committed themselves to negotiating cuts, they have not yet agreed on specifics.
八国集团成员国还保证,要共同努力争取实现在2050年之前把温室气体排放量削减80%的目标。尽管发展中国家承诺要讨论减排问题,他们还没有就具体细节达成共识。
President Obama called it a historic consensus, but acknowledged it was only a first step with major work still ahead.
美国总统奥巴马认为这次峰会达成的共识具有历史意义,不过他同时承认这只是第一步,还需要做大量工作。
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the 2050 targets are too far in the future and that more needs to be done sooner. Many aid and environmental groups also say progress is too little and too slow.
联合国秘书长潘基文表示,2050的减排目标太遥远,许多工作需要尽快完成。许多援助和环保组织也认为,进展太小,速度太慢。
Meredith Alexander of the international group, ActionAid, says developed nations can and should do more.
国际组织“行动援助”(ActionAid)的梅雷迪特·亚历山大(Meredith Alexander)说,发达国家能够并且应该做得更多。
"It's nice that they referenced the 2-degree figure in their statement, but it's really not enough. G8 leaders and other rich countries need to be putting more money on the table and they need to be accepting much deeper cuts," said Alexander.
梅雷迪特说:“它们在声明中提到了2摄氏度的目标,这是好事,不过这的确还不够。八国集团领导人等其它富裕国家需要拿出更多的资金,需要接受更大的减排量。”
This G8 summit took place, not in a major world capital or plush resort, but rather in central Italy, in an area devastated by a powerful earthquake just three months ago, in which nearly 300 people were killed. Many of the world leaders visited some of the worst hit areas.
这次八国集团峰会没有选在世界著名首都或者豪华渡假地举行,而是在意大利中部城市召开,这个城市是灾区,三个月前刚刚发生过强烈地震,将近300人丧生。许多世界领导人在会议期间视察了一些受灾最严重的地方。
And, there was much talk about the continued relevance of the G8 - a group originally established in 1975 to include then the world's six most developed economies. Some of the leaders here in L'Aquila, including President Obama agreed that other nations must be brought in and reforms made. Many say it has become evident that while the G8 still represents some of the world's most powerful countries, they alone cannot solve global problems - not without the help of others.
此外,这次峰会谈得比较多的一个话题是八国集团如何继续适应形势的问题,这个组织始建于1975年,创始国是世界上六个最发达的经济体。奥巴马总统等在拉奎拉参加峰会的一些领导人一致认为,这个集团必须吸收其它国家,而且必须进行改革。许多领导人表示,尽管八国集团仍然代表世界一些最强大的国家,但是,如果没有其他国家的帮助,光凭它们自己无法解决全球性问题。 |