As international negotiators continue climate change talks in Copenhagen, they are watching another European capital, Brussels, where European leaders are meeting Thursday and Friday to firm up their global warming policy.
就在国际谈判代表在哥本哈根继续进行气候变化谈判的同时，欧洲领导人星期四和星期五在布鲁塞尔的欧盟总部召开会议，最后确定他们针对全球气候变暖的对应政策。
The year-end summit of European Union leaders is expected to tackle a number of issues, including international banking supervision and Afghanistan. But climate change is expected to top the agenda.
这次欧盟领导人年终峰会需要处理国际银行业监管与阿富汗等一系列议题，但气候变化是他们讨论的重点。
European heads of state are expected to agree on a dollar amount for short-term aid for developing countries to cope with climate change. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, has called on the bloc to collectively earmark about $3 billion yearly in assistance, between 2010 and 2012. So far, Britain and Sweden have announced short-term pledges, which are voluntary. Most members have not.
欧盟成员国元首们要敲定为发展中国家提供短期援助的金额，以对付气候变化。欧盟执行机构-欧洲委员会呼吁欧盟成员国从2010年到2012年每年拿出大约30亿美元作为援助资金。迄今为止，英国和瑞典宣布了提供短期援助的承诺，可是大部分其他成员国还没有宣布承诺。这种承诺是自愿行为。
Jason Anderson, head of EU climate and energy policy at the environment group WWF, says it is important the pledges amount to new money - rather than simply reshuffling existing aid. And, he says, Europe must agree on long-term aid to poor nations.
欧盟气候与能源政策主任贾森·安德森(Jason Anderson)说，承诺追加援助资金，而不是重新调整现有的援助计划，这点很重要。他说，向贫困国家提供长期援助，欧洲国家必须达成共识。
"In terms of the long term, I think they need to acknowledge the scale and be willing to put in a more specific offer for Europe's fair share of that scale, recognizing there is negotiation here, so it doesn't have to be a final fixed figure on the table, but it has to be consistent with the overall scale," he said.
安德森说：“就长期援助而言，我认为他们需要说明援助金额，为欧洲承担的合理部分提出一个更加具体的建议。他们应该意识到正在进行的谈判，不一定需要拿出一个最终的确定数字，但必须满足总的援助金额的要求。”
So far, EU leaders have agreed only that a general, global figure of $150 billion in aid is needed, but they have not specified their own share of that sum.
欧盟领导人迄今只就援助的总金额达成了共识，即全球需要1千5百亿美元的援助，但是他们还没有确定各自需要承担的金额。
Environmental groups are also backing Britain's call for the EU to cut carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2020, instead of their agreed 20 percent.
英国呼吁欧盟到2020年把碳排放减少30%，而不是已经同意的20%，英国的提议得到环境组织的支持。
"There have been a number of studies showing that Europe moving to 30 percent would actually be an economic gain for Europe. And that includes if other countries don't take a gain at the same level, although they have to join later," said Jason Anderson. "The reason for that is that every time you cut, you're putting into place policies that use less energy, energy costs money and, in fact, you're saving money."
安德森说：“很多研究结果都显示，欧洲碳排放减少30%，从经济角度讲会让欧洲受益。其他国家受益程度自然不同，尽管他们稍后会加入我们的行列。原因是，你每次减排，都在落实节能政策，能源耗资巨大，所以节能减排实际上意味着你在省钱。”
But business leaders, along with EU members like Poland and Italy, strongly oppose deeper cuts, arguing they will hurt European economies that are slowly emerging from the financial crisis.
但是商界领袖与波兰、意大利等欧盟成员国一道，都强烈反对提高减排目标，理由是，正在缓慢摆脱金融危机的欧洲各经济体会受到伤害。 |