美国国家公共电台 NPR--Climate promises are still not enough to avoid catastrophic global warming, U.N. says

Climate promises are still not enough to avoid catastrophic global warming, U.N. says

Transcript¹

Jennifer Allan of the International Institute for Sustainable Development speaks with NPR's Rachel Martin about a new U.N. report that finds the world falling far behind in fighting global warming.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

A new report from the United Nations finds that the world has less than a decade to cut greenhouse gas emissions² by 45%. This is if the world wants to limit the worst climate damage. Scientists say we need to keep global warming to within 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit³. But many nations are not meeting their own lower pledges. Jennifer Allan is a strategic adviser⁴ at the International Institute for Sustainable Development, and she joins us this morning. Thanks for being here.

JENNIFER ALLAN: Pleasure. Good morning.

MARTIN: Jennifer, when you hear this news out of the U.N. that nations are still so far away from what needs to happen to prevent the worst effects of climate change, what goes through your mind?

ALLAN: Well, unfortunately, it's not really new or news. This is the longest in a string of reports - and actually, a bunch of reports this week - that have put a firm underline that countries are individually and they're collectively failing to act. They're failing to reduce emissions. They're failing to build resilience to the effects of climate change, and that developed countries are failing to support developing countries to help take those actions that maybe they couldn't afford. So year on year, we see new pledges. We see new promises. And what this report starkly⁵ shows is that all those pledges and all that talk is not being backed up by action. We're going to see maybe a 1% decrease in emissions by 2030 from all of the promises that we've seen on climate change in the last year.

MARTIN: Let's just underscore what you just said. We're likely to see a 1% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. And the U.N. is saying that needs to go down by 45% in the same time period.

ALLAN: Exactly. We are barely putting a scratch in it. So maybe for useful context, if you think back to during the pandemic when there were stay-at-home orders - or here in the U.K., we had several national lockdowns - all of our lives changed a lot, you know? We were home. We weren't traveling around as much. That was actually just a blip in emissions. So that was a 7% decrease in emissions. And we need to go down 43. So we are talking about a really systemic difference and big transformation⁶ to how we get our energy, how we build our buildings, how we secure our food systems and where the financial sector⁷ puts its money.

MARTIN: So you just alluded⁸ to it, but the report says incremental⁹ change is definitely not going to cut it - hasn't until now, not going to help us get to this goal. Rapid transformation has to occur. But what does that practically look like?

ALLAN: Yeah. And that, I think, is sort of the challenge, is we're all struggling to collectively imagine what this might be. To my mind, this looks like collective responsibility in a way that it's all hands on deck. So every government department, every company will need to start seeing itself implicated¹⁰ in dealing¹¹ with climate change. So whether that's talking about infrastructure¹² or agriculture or regulating or incentivizing the financial sector, it means everyone has a role to play. And we have to start thinking about those tough choices to wean off fossil fuels that are embedded¹³ in our economic system.

It's not going to be easy. There also will have to be policies and thinking put in to, how do we make sure we don't leave anyone behind? If someone's worked their whole life in the fossil fuel sector, that doesn't mean that they shouldn't either have early retirement¹⁴ or have opportunity to have another equally well-paying job in the renewable, low-carbon economy. So there's a lot to think about here. But the main message of this report is, we have to start acting¹⁵ as well as trying to figure things out as we go.

MARTIN: So what do you do about the biggest emitters, I mean, when you think about China or India, countries that have pushed back against limits on coal, or the United States, which has had a hard time meeting its own climate goals?

ALLAN: Yeah. And every country's struggling to meet its own climate goals. That's certainly also what this report shows. Other reports have shown that countries are actually actively¹⁶ investing in fossil fuel infrastructure. So we're not really moving the same way across the board. So it's, you know - talking about China and India, they, too, have to be part of the solution. And we're looking into a new climate COP. And unfortunately, American and Chinese relations aren't great. And these major emitters will have to find a way to work together. They're the ones that will have to talk to each other, so they know what each other is going to do, and there isn't this concern about competition and competitive environment, economic concerns.

MARTIN: Dr. Jennifer Allan with the International Institute for Sustainable Development, thanks for your time.

ALLAN: Thank you.

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 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。

3 Fahrenheit   

n./adj.华氏温度；华氏温度计(的)

参考例句：

• He was asked for the boiling point of water in Fahrenheit.他被问到水的沸点是华氏多少度。
• The thermometer reads 80 degrees Fahrenheit.寒暑表指出华氏80度。

4 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

5 starkly   

adj. 变硬了的,完全的 adv. 完全,实在,简直

参考例句：

• The city of Befast remains starkly divided between Catholics and Protestants. 贝尔法斯特市完全被处在天主教徒和新教徒的纷争之中。
• The black rocks stood out starkly against the sky. 那些黑色的岩石在天空衬托下十分显眼。

6 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

7 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。

8 alluded   

提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In your remarks you alluded to a certain sinister design. 在你的谈话中，你提到了某个阴谋。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. 她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。

9 incremental   

adj.增加的

参考例句：

• For logic devices, the incremental current gain is very important. 对于逻辑器件来说，提高电流增益是非常重要的。 来自辞典例句
• By using an incremental approach, the problems involving material or geometric nonlinearity have been solved. 借应用一种增量方法，已经解决了包括材料的或几何的非线性问题。 来自辞典例句

10 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 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。

12 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

13 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

14 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

15 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

16 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。