VOA标准英语2015--Private Citizens Meet on Climate Change

Private Citizens Meet on Climate Change

This Saturday, June 6th, hundreds of citizens in 80 countries will have a chance to voice their concerns and learn about climate change. The comments and opinions will be considered when the next Climate Change Conference is held in Paris in December.

The citizen consultation¹ and deliberation process is called World Wide Views. It’s an effort to raise awareness² about climate change and other issues. Organizers said it’s better suited for discussions on environmental matters than traditional surveys or focus groups – and that it will “help close the widening gap between citizens and policymakers.”

World Wide Views is described as a “global citizen consultation that provides decision-makers with a unique insight on complex governance issues that are debated and negotiated at global venues³, such as the U.N.” It’s been in use for climate conferences since 2009.

University of Helsinki Adjunct Professor Mikko Rask has studied the consultation process. He said while supported by the U.N., the consultations⁴ are actually organized by the World Wide Views initiative

“It’s a network of research institutes, environmental and other NGOs, assessment⁵ institutes and maybe some ministries⁶, as well. But the coordinator⁷, real coordinator, is [the] Danish Board of Technology that used to be a parliamentarian body that provided advice to [the] Danish parliament,” he said.

The daylong event in 80 countries features groups of 100 randomly⁸ selected people discussing major issues facing the climate.

Rask said the process is superior to surveys and focus groups because of the high level of ignorance among the public about environmental issues. For example, a poll shows only 44-percent of Europeans know the meaning of biodiversity. A simple definition is the variety of different types of life found in specific geographic⁹ locations.

He said, “If citizens lack sufficient information, how can you survey their opinions?”

“Questions and issues of climate negotiations¹⁰ are really complicated and not available for [the] the public to start reflecting without any kind of background information. So, you cannot survey what folks should think about problems of biodiversity.”

So, the group meetings will also be used to raise awareness.

Professor Rask is co-editor of a new book entitled Governing Biodiversity through Democratic Deliberation. The book contains evaluations¹¹ by 30 international researchers on the role of the citizen consultation process in environmental policy.

“[The] majority of the articles are analyzing¹² this new process that tries to provide an alternative for complex environmental issues by allowing the informed reflection by randomly selected citizens. So, there are students of political sciences, science and technology studies, who are analyzing how the process was conducted in different countries, how reliable the method was,” said Rask

The book does find some problems with the World Wide Views consultations. Researchers say the method often relies “too heavily on numerical information, while ignoring local perspectives.”

Rask said that “since the U.N. is interested in more democratic decision-making, the local perspectives of different countries should be integrated more closely into global policymaking.”

1 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

2 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

3 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

4 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

6 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

7 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

8 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句

9 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

10 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

11 evaluations   

估价( evaluation的名词复数 )； 赋值； 估计价值； [医学]诊断

参考例句：

• In fact, our moral evaluations are merely expressions of our desires. 事实上，我们的道德评价只是我们欲望的表达形式。 来自哲学部分
• Properly speaking, however, these evaluations and insights are not within the concept of official notice. 但准确地讲，这些评估和深远见识并未包括在官方通知概念里。

12 analyzing   

v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析

参考例句：

• Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据，暴露出的问题甚至更大。 来自辞典例句
• He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然，他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。 来自辞典例句