VOA慢速英语--非洲还不准备放弃石油

Protests against climate change have been taking place in many countries throughout the year. Yet energy officials from one area appear unlikely to support calls to suspend use of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil.

That area is Africa, south of the Sahara Desert.

Burning oil releases carbon dioxide into Earth's atmosphere. Scientists blame increasing levels of the gas for rising temperatures worldwide.

"Under no circumstances are we going to be apologizing," said Gabriel Obiang Lima, energy minister of Equatorial Guinea. He added that African countries need to use their oil resources to create jobs and increase economic development.

"Anybody out of the continent saying we should not develop those fields, that is criminal. It is very unfair," he said.

Obiang Lima spoke¹ last week at a meeting of energy officials in Cape² Town, South Africa.

Less tension on climate issues

Unlike energy conferences in Africa, oil meetings held in Europe often have heated debates between delegates and environmental activists³. Investor⁴ and government pressure to deal with climate change has caused many oil companies and government officials to take note.

But at the three-day event in Cape Town, there was little debate on the issue of climate change.

No oil-producing country has ever stopped developing fossil fuel resources. Yet some countries have made major promises to limit their use. For example, Norway has established a national carbon tax. And, Britain has promised to be carbon neutral by the year 2050. It plans not to add to the amount of carbon it already releases into the atmosphere.

In Cape Town, however, African leaders expressed support for the good that oil, gas and coal can bring to Africa. They estimated that about 600 million Africans lack electricity.

"Energy is the catalyst⁵ for growth," said Gwede Mantashe, South Africa's energy minister. He also is national chair of the ruling African National Congress.

"They even want to tell us to switch off all the coal-generated power stations," he said. "Until you tell them, ‘you know we can do that, but you'll breathe fresh air in the darkness'."

Africa is rich in mineral resources. For years, African countries have shipped oil around the world. African countries, however, do not create large amounts of the gas emissions⁶ linked to climate change.

The British-based website CarbonBrief reports on climate change issues. It says that, since the 1800s, all African countries have produced seven times less carbon dioxide than China, 13 times less than the U.S. and 18 times less than all of Europe.

For this reason, climate activists are pressuring developed countries to cut emissions more aggressively than developing countries.

A need for power

African ministers speaking in Cape Town noted⁷ their countries' needs for fossil fuel money and power in order to develop and expand their economies.

The Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that nearly half of Africans had no electricity last year. It also said that about 80 percent of sub-Saharan African companies suffered electricity disruptions that cost them money.

The IEA said that it expects renewable energy sources will account for two-thirds of worldwide gains in providing electricity by 2030. It also warned that changing forces around the world meant that nations could no longer depend on oil for future earnings⁸.

Some ministers, including Mantashe and Irene Muloni of Uganda, spoke about a need to develop renewable energy resources.

In Kenya, about two thirds of electricity comes from renewable sources like hydropower and energy made from the Earth's internal heat. The government aims to generate 100 percent of its energy from renewable sources by the end of next year.

But few officials at the meeting in Cape Town were prepared to limit fossil fuel development.

Gabon's minister for hydrocarbons⁹ Noel Mboumba noted that oil is a major driver of development.

"We will do all in our power to develop it," he said.

Words in This Story

circumstance – n. a condition that affects a situation

catalyst – n. something that causes a change or an another action

switch – v. to change the position or direction of something

disruption –n. to interfere¹⁰ with the normal process of something

account – v. to consider; to think of as

hydropower – adj. of or related to the production of energy from flowing water

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

5 catalyst   

n.催化剂，造成变化的人或事

参考例句：

• A catalyst is a substance which speeds up a chemical reaction.催化剂是一种能加速化学反应的物质。
• The workers'demand for better conditions was a catalyst for social change.工人们要求改善工作条件促进了社会变革。

6 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。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

9 hydrocarbons   

n.碳氢化合物，烃( hydrocarbon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hydrocarbons (HC), like carbon monoxide, represent unburned and wasted fuel. 碳氢化合物(HC)像一氧化碳一样，为未燃尽的和被浪费掉的燃料。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• With this restricted frequency range it is not applicable to hydrocarbons. 这个较紧缩的频率范围不适用于烃类。 来自辞典例句

10 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。