VOA标准英语2009年-Global Climate Change Treaty Delayed

By Selah Hennessy
London
06 November 2009

Senior negotiators at a U.N. conference in Barcelona say a legally binding² environment treaty will be delayed. In the final day of a weeklong conference, world leaders say a global climate treaty might be postponed³ by up to a year.

Delegates have been in Barcelona all week to hash out a plan that would pave the way for 192 nations to sign a legally binding international climate deal next month.

But now executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change Yvo de Boer says any decision taken next month in Copenhagen will instead be "morally binding." And a legally binding deal may take another year to put in place.

 
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt interacts with the media during a visit to Sulabh International in New Delhi, India, 06 Nov 2009
Speaking in India, Sweden's prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt told journalists the setback⁴ comes because some countries are not politically ready to sign a deal.

"What we hear is that the kind of legally binding agreement that we, for instance, did inside the European Union, will probably not be possible since some of the countries like the United States say we do not have the support in our congress to make a ratification⁵ on an international agreement," he said.

But speaking from Barcelona, Hugh Cole of the charity group Oxfam, says European leaders need to focus on their own lack of political will.

"As far as we're concerned they're basically hiding behind the United State's lack of ambition," he said.

He says the mood at the conference today is one of disappointment. And he says it's developing countries that will be worst hit by this delay.

"We're also seeing a clash between politics and special interests in rich countries contrasted very sharply with real impacts for people in the developing world," said Cole.

"We're talking about farmers who are losing their crops; we're talking about people who are having to learn to live with more frequent drought and floods. We're talking about more natural disasters, increased levels of disease. These are impacts that are being felt here and now in the developing world," he added.

Earlier this week African delegates boycotted⁶ some talks because they said developed nations were not making concrete promises on cutting greenhouse gas emissions⁷. They also say rich countries must make financial pledges to help developing countries deal with the changes brought by climate change.

The European Union has said that developing nations will need almost $150 billion in aid per year by 2020 to deal with climate change.

Cole says there is still potential for a good climate deal in Copenhagen next month.

"What is currently being discussed is that you would have a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol⁸, which doesn't currently include the United States, and then you would have a separate agreement which would bind¹ the U.S. into its own omission⁹ reduction targets," he said.

The Kyoto Protocol is a legally binding treaty agreed to by 37 countries in 1997. The current goals of the treaty end in 2012.

1 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

2 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。

3 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

4 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

5 ratification   

n.批准，认可

参考例句：

• The treaty is awaiting ratification.条约正等待批准。
• The treaty is subject to ratification.此条约经批准后才能生效。

6 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

7 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。

8 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。

9 omission   

n.省略，删节；遗漏或省略的事物，冗长

参考例句：

• The omission of the girls was unfair.把女孩排除在外是不公平的。
• The omission of this chapter from the third edition was a gross oversight.第三版漏印这一章是个大疏忽。