VOA常速英语2105--国际应对气变协议即使达成如何实施引关注

If a Climate Agreement is Reached, What Happens Next? 国际应对气变协议即使达成如何实施引关注

The main expectations from the two-week United Nations Climate Change Conference about to begin in Paris are that the outcome should be a concrete plan with achievable goals from every nation that participates – meaning that by 2025, carbon emissions¹ will be at a much lower level than they are today.  But once that agreement is reached -- what will it take to actually implement² it?

联合国气候变化大会即将在巴黎举行。人们对这次为期两个星期的大会的主要期望是，大会能提出一个具体的方案，规定每一个与会国都可以达到的目标，即在2025年之前被碳排放减少到比现在低得多的水平。但问题是，一旦有关协议达成，将如何具体实施？

There is hope in combating the effects of a rapidly warming planet, according to U.S. Congressman³ Don Beyer, who serves on the Joint⁴ Economic Committee and the House Committee on Natural Resources.

美国国会众议员、众议院联合经济委员会和自然资源委员会成员拜尔认为，现在依然有希望可以减缓全球迅速升温引发的种种效应。

“The United States has done more than any other country in the last seven years to reduce its carbon footprint. A lot of other nations around the world are working very hard. I am very optimistic about the Paris talks coming up in just a few weeks. Even the big nuke polluters like China and India are willing to come with plans,” said Beyer.

他说：“美国过去的7年里在减少碳排放方面比其他任何国家做得都多。全世界许多其他国家也在努力。我对几个星期之后就要举行的巴黎谈判感到乐观。连中国和印度这样的污染大国都愿意拿出减排方案。”

Still, one of the toughest issues has been financing developing countries to help them develop sustainable energy sources. George Mason University Professor Mona Sarfaty has a possible solution.

但一个最困难的问题依然是如何为发展中国家提供资金，帮助它们开发可持续的能源。乔治梅森大学教授萨法蒂提出一个可行的解决方案。他说：

“The increase in solar panels photovoltaic cells has been tremendous over the last decade, and come far faster than anybody thought that it would. It’s now less expensive to produce solar energy than it is to produce other types of energy in some places. So what we need to do is to spread that inexpensively produced solar energy, so that there are many more areas that are able to get the energy that they need using either solar or wind – the renewables that are currently available,” said Sarfaty.

“太阳能电池板在过去10年的使用量大大增加，增加速度超出所有人的想象。太阳能电池板发电在某些地方要比生产其他形式的能源更为廉价。因此，我们需要做的是扩大使用廉价生产的太阳能，让许多地区可以从太阳能或风能获取能源。这都是现在可以得到的可再生能源。”

At the same time, financing for poorer nations -- to help them cut greenhouse gas emissions and deal with the fallout of global warming remains⁵ one of the biggest obstacles -- even though the gap is narrowing.

与此同时，给较为贫穷的国家提供资金，帮助它们减少温室效应气体排放以应对全球升温所造成的问题依然是个最大的障碍，尽管这方面的鸿沟正在缩小。

Aliya Hag, of the Natural Resources Defense⁶ Council acknowledges there is no quick solution.

美国自然资源保护委员会的哈格承认，现在没有立竿见影的解决方案。

“Developing nations are the most vulnerable to climate impacts and they need help from the industrialized world, which was responsible for much of the pollution that is causing the warming today. That’s not to say that developing countries don’t need to start reducing their emissions right now, but we do need to find a way to mobilize enough financing to make sure that they are able to build resilience and be prepared for the climate impacts that are already baked into the system,” said Hag.

他说：“发展中国家最容易受气候变化的负面影响，他们需要工业化国家的帮助，因为主要是工业化国家造成了如今导致全球升温的污染。但这并不是说发展中国家不需要开始减排。我们确实需要找到一条途径，调动足够的资金来确保发展中国家可以做好准备，应对已经成形的气候变化所带来的种种影响。”

Still, the reaching of a comprehensive deal in France remains uncertain.

目前，世界各国是否能在法国巴黎达成一项全面协议仍然是一个未知数。

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 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

3 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。