VOA标准英语2009年-Africa Boycott Steers UN Climate Talks

By Selah Hennessy
London
04 November 2009

 
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
Commitments on greenhouse-gas emissions¹ cuts will be the focus of the remaining few days of a U.N. climate conference in Barcelona. African delegates pulled out of talks Tuesday to protest developed countries' failure to set concrete emissions goals.

Delegates in Spain hit a major stumbling block Tuesday when the African group pulled out of some climate talks, saying rich nations are not doing enough to tackle climate change. They said developed nations had to set targets to curb³ greenhouse-gas emissions before they would negotiate on other issues.

In response, European Union and other Kyoto Protocol⁴ member countries agreed to allocate⁵ more time to discussing emissions cuts.

Mike Shanahan is from the London-based research group International Institute for Environment and Development.

"And now what has happened is that the negotiators from all of the countries have agreed, O.K. we have to focus on these numbers," said Mike Shanahan. "So for the rest of the week in Barcelona that is going to be the dominant⁶ issue in that strand⁷ of the negotiations⁸."

The talks taking place this week in Barcelona will be the last before a major U.N. summit in December where delegates will hash out a new deal to replace the Kyoto Protocol.

At the U.N.-sponsored forum⁹ in Japan in 1997 rich countries agreed to cut emissions by up to 15 percent by 2020. The first phase of the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012 and the current talks are aimed at setting in place new legally binding¹⁰ emissions targets for the decade to come. 

In a news conference late Tuesday, developing countries demanded rich countries commit to a 40-percent overall cut on emissions.

But developed countries are falling well short of that target right now. And in London, the U.N. Secretary General said world leaders are not likely to agree to a new climate change pact¹¹ at the December summit in Copenhagen.

Shanahan says one of the major stumbling blocks is the United States. It is the only developed country not to have ratified¹² the Kyoto Protocol and is still resisting a legally binding international deal.

"We have 192 countries in the framework convention on climate change and one of them wants to have separate rules," he said. "So until we can overcome that stumbling block I think there is a bit of an issue."

Shanahan says since the inauguration¹³ of U.S. President Barack Obama the country has shifted its climate policy. Mr. Obama has pledged support for a new climate treaty.

But Shanahan says emissions cuts are not the only climate issue affecting developing countries.

"The next thing is to work out how technology can be transferred from rich countries to poor countries and this will involve things like investment in renewable energy, investment in wind power and solar, investment in more efficient power stations," said Shanahan. "And it makes sense to do this because it will be cheaper to cut emissions in a developing country than it will be in a Western country and it also means that we can more cooperatively work together on this global challenge."

Last week, EU leaders agreed developing countries will need about $100 billion a year to cope with climate change. But the European bloc² did not commit to any sums and said the amount the European Union would provide will depend on financial commitments by other countries.

Shanahan says the money will have to be found.

"They are quite scary figures for people who are not used to dealing¹⁴ with these numbers," he said. "But they are actually very small when you look at the numbers that were spent bailing¹⁵ out the banks during this economic crisis. So the money is available somewhere if the priority is decided¹⁶ that tackling climate change is what we have to do."

Africa, with already severe weather conditions and a poor population largely dependent on subsistence farming, is considered to be the continent most threatened by climate change.

Aid groups say 23 million people face starvation in East Africa because of a relentless¹⁷ drought some scientists say may be a result of climate change.

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 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

3 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

4 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。

5 allocate   

vt.分配，分派；把…拨给；把…划归

参考例句：

• You must allocate the money carefully.你们必须谨慎地分配钱。
• They will allocate fund for housing.他们将拨出经费建房。

6 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

7 strand   

vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地）

参考例句：

• She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears.她把一缕散发夹到了耳后。
• The climbers had been stranded by a storm.登山者被暴风雨困住了。

8 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。

9 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

10 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

11 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

12 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

13 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

14 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

15 bailing   

（凿井时用吊桶）排水

参考例句：

• Both fountains were going furiously and both pumps bailing with might and main. 两个人的口水只管喷泉似地朝外涌，两个抽水机全力以赴往外抽水。
• The mechanical sand-bailing technology makes sand-washing operation more efficient. 介绍了机械捞砂的结构装置及工作原理，提出了现场操作注意事项。

16 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

17 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。