VOA标准英语2009年-World Leaders Promise Action at UN Climate

By Margaret Besheer
United Nations
22 September 2009

 
United Nations Secretary Ban Ki-moon(R) addresses United Nations Climate Change Summit, 22 Sep 2009
Nearly 100 world leaders met at a summit at the United Nations Tuesday to put their political weight behind achieving a global climate treaty later this year when they meet in the Danish capital.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the unprecedented¹ summit with a warning to world leaders that their decisions would have "momentous² consequences." "The fate of future generations, and the hopes and livelihoods³ of billions today, rest, literally⁴, with you," he said.

He urged action this December when the international community meets in Copenhagen. Mr. Ban said a successful deal would be one that includes ambitious reduction targets from industrialized countries and commitments on emissions⁵ from developing ones. He said it should also include financial and technological⁶ support for emerging countries.

In his first speech before the United Nations, President Barack Obama said the United States understands how serious the threat of climate change is and is ready to respond, but he did not offer any new proposals.

 
US President Barack Obama speaks during Summit on Climate Change at United Nations in New York, 22 Sep 2009
Instead, he pointed⁷ to U.S. efforts to invest in alternate forms of clean and renewable energy, such as wind and solar power, and to reduce carbon pollution. He also pointed to efforts to pass important climate legislation in the U.S. Congress.

"Taken together, these steps represent an historic recognition on behalf of the American people and their government. We understand the gravity of the climate threat. We are determined⁸ to act. And we will meet our responsibility to future generations," he said.

The United States and China are each responsible for about one-fifth of carbon emissions worldwide, so it came as good news when China's President Hu Jintao announced plans to cut emissions significantly by 2020, and to vigorously develop renewable and nuclear energy.

Japan's new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama reaffirmed his campaign pledge for Japan to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020.

African nations have contributed the least to global warming but are at greater risk from its effects and are without adequate resources to respond to its challenges. Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change warned that without significant progress to lessen⁹ the impact of climate change, Africa would be disproportionately affected¹¹.

"In Africa, by 2020, between 75 and 250 million are projected to be exposed to water stress due to climate change, and in some countries yields from rain-fed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50 percent. The impacts of climate change would be disproportionately severe on some of the poorest regions and communities in the world," Pachauri said.

But perhaps one of the most distressing¹² calls for action came from President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, whose island nation is at risk from rising sea levels.

"If things go business-as-usual, we will not live, we will die. Our country will not exist. We cannot come out from Copenhagen as failures. We cannot make Copenhagen a pact¹⁰ for suicide. We have to succeed and we have to make a deal in Copenhagen," he said.

The call for action at the summit did not just come from world leaders - it came from the generation with the most to lose if climate talks fail - the world's youth. Yugratna Srivastava, a 13-year-old Indian girl, spoke¹³ forcefully at the podium, sending a wake-up call to those assembled.

"We received a clean and healthy planet from our ancestors and we are gifting a damaged one to our successors. What sort of justice is this," she said.

She said the three billion young people in the world need them to take action now to protect the planet for future generations.

1 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

2 momentous   

adj.重要的，重大的

参考例句：

• I am deeply honoured to be invited to this momentous occasion.能应邀出席如此重要的场合，我深感荣幸。
• The momentous news was that war had begun.重大的新闻是战争已经开始。

3 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

4 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

5 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。

6 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

8 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

9 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

10 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。

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

12 distressing   

a.使人痛苦的

参考例句：

• All who saw the distressing scene revolted against it. 所有看到这种悲惨景象的人都对此感到难过。
• It is distressing to see food being wasted like this. 这样浪费粮食令人痛心。

13 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。