VOA慢速英语2021--拜登开启全球气候峰会

President Joe Biden met Thursday with world leaders to discuss efforts to fight climate change.

He told the group that the world faces serious danger but also opportunity. And, he said the costs of not stopping the problem were growing.

At the meeting, the leaders of China and Russia promised their countries would work to reduce coal and oil based emissions¹.

Biden's own new commitment is to cut U.S. fossil fuel emissions up to 52 percent by 2030. His action marks a return by the U.S. to climate efforts after four years of withdrawal² under President Donald Trump³. Biden's administration wants to create a future United States where factories make batteries for export, the electricity grid⁴ is rebuilt and workers close up old-fashioned energy sources, like gas, oil and coal.

Japan, a heavy user of coal, announced its own new target of a 46 percent emissions decrease Thursday as the U.S. and its allies worked to build agreement at the meeting.

South Korea used the meeting to say it would stop investing money in coal-fired power plants. This is an important step that climate groups hope will help convince China and Japan to slow their own building and investing in coal power.

The coronavirus pandemic forced the meeting to play out as a livestream. It limited the chance for world leaders to talk and negotiate among themselves. The opening of the meeting had many technical problems.

The meeting was, however, an impressive gathering⁵ of the world's most powerful leaders speaking on the single cause of climate change.

China is the world's biggest emissions maker⁶. Its president, Xi Jinping spoke⁷ first among the other world figures. He did not discuss non-climate arguments that had made it uncertain until Wednesday that he would even take part in the meeting. He said that China would work with America in cutting emissions.

"To protect the environment is to protect productivity, and to boost the environment is to boost productivity. It's as simple as that," Xi said.

Russia's leader, Vladimir Putin has been publicly angry since Biden called him a "killer⁸" for Russia's aggressive moves against its critics. But he did not say anything about this in his own climate remarks.

He said Russia was very interested in gathering "international cooperation so as to look further for effective solutions to climate change as well as to all other vital challenges." Russia is often considered the world's fourth-biggest emitter of climate-damaging fossil fuel emissions.

The coronavirus pandemic made gathering world leaders for an in-person meeting too risky⁹. White House staff built a small TV set in the East Room for Biden to use.

Biden and Vice¹⁰ President Kamala Harris both spoke to the other leaders from separate areas before joining Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House climate expert John Kerry at a table set up to watch fellow leaders' livestreamed speeches.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said "this is not bunny-hugging, this is about growth and jobs."

The Biden administration's promise would be the U.S.'s strongest climate effort ever. It increases the Obama administration's target reductions by nearly 100 percent.

The two-day meeting comes as scientists say that climate change is already worsening droughts, floods, hurricanes, wildfires and other disasters. It appears, they say, that humans are running out of time to stop the extreme weather conditions caused by climate change.

Biden administration officials, however, did not lay out a strong plan, including budgets and possible legislation. Instead, they talked of hopes and fears for the future.

Biden left for other duties during the first morning meeting, but returned to join the following meeting later. It discussed ways to help poorer countries remake and protect their economies from climate change.

Promises from the United States, Japan, Canada, the European Union and the United Kingdom, more than 50 percent of the world's economy, that plan to cut emissions are enough to keep the earth's climate from warming more than 1.5 degrees Celsius¹¹.

As of 2019, the U.S. had reduced its emissions by 13 percent since 2005. That happened mostly because costs to produce sun, wind and natural gas power dropped, said climate scientist Niklas Hohne of Climate Action Tracker

Words in This Story

opportunity – n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done

emissions – n. the act of producing or sending out something (such as energy or gas) from a source

battery – n. a device that is placed inside a machine (such as a clock, toy, or car) to supply it with electricity

boost – v. help or encouragement

vital – adj. extremely important

bunny-hugger – n. someone who is pro-environmental concerns

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 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

3 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。

4 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

5 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

6 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

7 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。

8 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

9 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

10 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

11 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。