VOA慢速英语2020 研究显示疫情期间全球二氧化碳排放量下降了17%

The world cut its carbon dioxide releases by 17 percent at the height of the COVID-19 shutdown last month, a new study says.

一项新的研究称，上个月在新冠肺炎封锁高峰期，全球的二氧化碳排放量减少了17%。

As life returns to more usual operations, carbon dioxide is increasing again. And, the brief period of reduced air pollution is unlikely to have any substantial effect on climate change, scientists say.

随着生活重归正常，二氧化碳又开始增加。科学家们表示，短时期内降低空气污染不太可能对气候变化产生任何实质性影响。

The international research group Global Carbon Project did the study. The organization publishes a yearly estimate of worldwide carbon dioxide releases.

“全球碳计划”国际研究组织进行了这项研究。该组织每年会发布全球二氧化碳排放量的估算值。

The findings show that for a week in April, the United States cut its carbon dioxide levels by about 30 percent. In China, the world's biggest polluter, carbon dioxide releases decreased by almost 25 percent in February. The study also shows levels dropped by 27 percent in India and 26 percent in Europe.

研究结果显示，在4月的某周内，美国的二氧化碳排放量降低了大约30%。中国作为二氧化碳最大的排放国，二月份的二氧化碳排放量下降了近25%。该研究还显示，印度的排放量下降了27%，欧洲下降了26%。

The biggest drop happened from April 4 through 9. The world released 17 million metric tons of carbon pollution less than recorded on New Year's Day.

降幅最大的时间段是4月4日到4月9日。该时段全球释放的碳污染比元旦期间的创历史记录值减少了1700万吨。

The magazine Nature Climate Change published the study.

《自然气候变化》杂志发表了这项研究。

The report's writers say pollution levels are already heading back up. However, they predict that 2020 will see a total carbon dioxide release of 4 to 7 percent lower than 2019, depending on COVID-19 restrictions¹. That would be the biggest yearly decrease in air pollution since World War II.

该报告的作者表示全球二氧化碳的污染水平已经回升。但是他们预计2020年的二氧化碳总排放量要比2019年减少4%到7%，具体取决于新冠肺炎的限制措施。这将是二战以来全球空气污染水平最大的年度减幅。

But, climate scientist and study leader Corinne LeQuere says the 2020 reduction could be meaningless if the world continues to slowly increase pollution levels. LeQuere is with the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom.

但是，气候学家兼这项研究的负责人科林·勒奎尔表示，如果全球的污染水平继续缓慢上升，2020年的减排量可能会毫无意义。勒奎尔目前就职于英国东安格利亚大学。

By April 30, the world carbon pollution levels had grown by 3 million metric tons a day from its low point earlier in the month.

截至4月30日，全球碳污染水平已经比本月的最低点每天增加300万吨。

Independent experts praised the study, saying it showed how much effort will be needed to stop additional climate change.

独立专家赞扬了这项研究，称该研究表明了阻止更多气候变化将需要付出多大努力。

Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann put it this way in an email: "Individual behavior alone ... won't get us there." He called for "structural² change," in how the world deals with carbon dioxide.

美国宾夕法尼亚州立大学气候科学家迈克尔·曼在电子邮件中表示：“光靠个人行为无法达成目标。”他呼吁全球在处理二氧化碳方面进行“结构性改革。”

1 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

2 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。