美国国家公共电台 NPR--Global leaders meet in Pittsburgh for climate talks

Global leaders meet in Pittsburgh for climate talks

Transcript¹

Officials from around the world are meeting in Pittsburgh to discuss global climate change efforts. The event comes as leaders prepare to meet this fall for the next U.N. climate summit in Egypt.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Energy and climate leaders from around the world are in Pittsburgh to discuss efforts to curb² climate change.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

This is a prelude³ to an upcoming United Nations climate summit in Egypt.

MART?NEZ: The Allegheny Front's Reid Frazier joins us from Pittsburgh, where he's covering the Global Clean Energy Action Forum⁴. Reid, this event comes a month after President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act. That's the largest action the U.S. has ever taken to curb greenhouse gases. His climate envoy⁵, John Kerry, spoke⁶ yesterday. What was Kerry's message?

REID FRAZIER, BYLINE⁷: Well, Kerry wanted to stress that because of the Inflation Reduction Act and other actions by the Biden administration, the U.S. is committed to transforming its economy and the way it generates energy with really unprecedented⁸ investments in decarbonization. He said all of this will help the U.S. meet President Biden's goal of cutting its CO2 emissions⁹ in half by 2030.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOHN KERRY: We will hit our 50 to 52% reduction, if not more, and I believe it will be more. Why? Because of the rate and pace at which technology is already moving.

FRAZIER: Kerry said the U.S. is playing catch-up on this from four years under President Donald Trump¹⁰, when the federal government was not as committed to lowering its emissions as it is now. But he said, even under Trump, three-quarters of all new electricity during those years in the U.S. came from renewable energy.

MART?NEZ: But even if the U.S. makes progress, I mean, there's still the rest of the world out there, and it's going to cost trillions to lower their carbon emissions. So what did Kerry have to say about that?

FRAZIER: Kerry basically said governments are not going to be able to fund this transition on their own. He said they don't have enough money. He thinks the key for this is getting private money flowing towards renewable energy.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KERRY: I believe the private sector¹¹ - I've said this for years now - no government is going to solve this problem. No government has enough money to be able to solve this problem.

FRAZIER: He said that policies that encourage private investment, like the tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act, are really the best way to get this to happen.

MART?NEZ: I know forums¹² like this are an opportunity for governments to highlight their climate efforts. Yesterday, the Biden administration's Energy Department announced funding for 6 to 10 hydrogen hubs around the country. How does hydrogen figure into the move to cleaner energy?

FRAZIER: Yeah, so hydrogen is a - basically a zero-carbon fuel. When you burn it, it doesn't produce any CO2, but you have to make it first. You can make hydrogen using renewable energy, so you could basically power a factory using just solar panels in theory, but you can also make it using natural gas. This is not as clean as using renewables. It creates carbon emissions that need to be captured and then buried. And there's a lot of interest in this natural gas version of hydrogen here in western Pennsylvania because, of course, there's lots of fracking nearby. And companies here want one of the hubs to be built near Pittsburgh.

MART?NEZ: Tomorrow at the same conference, Joe Manchin is expected to talk. What are you going to be listening for?

FRAZIER: Well, talk about the permitting bill that he - the text of which he just released. The bill has a lot of concessions¹³ to speed up reviews for oil and gas pipelines¹⁴ and other projects like that. And that has a lot of climate activists¹⁵ worried. But renewable advocates are also intrigued¹⁶ by the bill 'cause it could free up a lot of wind and solar that right now is stranded¹⁷ in the middle of the country. It's going to be interesting to hear how Manchin plans to convince his colleagues in Congress to vote for it.

MART?NEZ: Reid Frazier of The Allegheny Front - Reid thanks.

FRAZIER: Thanks very much.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 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。

3 prelude   

n.序言，前兆，序曲

参考例句：

• The prelude to the musical composition is very long.这首乐曲的序曲很长。
• The German invasion of Poland was a prelude to World War II.德国入侵波兰是第二次世界大战的序幕。

4 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。

5 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

6 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。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 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。

9 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。

10 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

11 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

12 forums   

讨论会； 座谈会； 广播专题讲话节目； 集会的公共场所( forum的名词复数 )； 论坛，讨论会，专题讨论节目； 法庭

参考例句：

• A few of the forums were being closely monitored by the administrators. 有些论坛被管理员严密监控。
• It can cast a dark cloud over these forums. 它将是的论坛上空布满乌云。

13 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

14 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

15 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

17 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。