美国国家公共电台 NPR Credit Rating Agency Issues Warning On Climate Change To Cities

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

One of the biggest credit rating agencies in the country issued a stark¹ warning to U.S. cities and states this week. Prepare for climate change, or risk being downgraded. NPR's Nathan Rott reports.

NATHAN ROTT, BYLINE²: It's hard to put a dollar amount on climate change, but it's fair to say that it will be costly³. Damage to and loss of coastal⁴ property, changes in agricultural production, increased energy use - those are just some of the negative economic impacts listed in a new report by Moody's Investor⁵ Services.

MICHAEL WERTZ: Climate change also entails⁷ things like increased risk of droughts and wildfires and heat-related mortalities and heatwaves.

ROTT: Michael Wertz is a vice⁶ president and senior analyst⁸ at Moody's, and he says it's important for credit rating agencies to take all of those risks and what's being done to mitigate⁹ them into consideration when they're grading a local government.

WERTZ: If you have a place that simply throws up its hands in the face of changes to climate trends, then we have to sort of evaluate it on an ongoing¹⁰ basis to see how that abdication¹¹ of response actually translates to changes in its credit profile.

RACHEL CLEETUS: These types of risks are now being recognized in the marketplace because they're causing multi-billion dollars' worth of damage already.

ROTT: Rachel Cleetus is the lead economist¹² at the Union of Concerned Scientists, and she says this is a wake-up for those that think of the damages of climate change as a future issue.

CLEETUS: What we're seeing through this type of a market-based signal is that, yes, people have to start making decisions now based on what is already baked in reality for many of these places.

ROTT: Places like Broward County, Fla. Broward County is in southeast Florida, where seas are expected to rise by at least a half a foot by 2030. The county has been aggressive in preparing for that rise and the increased coastal flooding that will come with it. Jennifer Jurado is the county's chief resilience officer.

JENNIFER JURADO: We create barriers to flood waters. We elevate properties. We manage storm water.

ROTT: The point is Broward County is preparing for climate change even though it hasn't been easy politically. Jurado says it can be hard to get policy makers¹³ to back big investments when the associated risks or benefits seem to be so far down the road. That's where Moody's announcement comes into play.

JURADO: Now we've got the incentive¹⁴ on an annual economic basis to make the smart investments that we've been arguing for.

ROTT: That's assuming that Moody's follows through with the warning and actually downgrades a place that isn't taking similar steps. Nathan Rott, NPR News.

1 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

2 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。

3 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

4 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

5 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

6 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。

7 entails   

使…成为必要( entail的第三人称单数 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需

参考例句：

• The job entails a lot of hard work. 这工作需要十分艰苦的努力。
• This job entails a lot of hard work. 这项工作需要十分努力。

8 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

9 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

10 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

11 abdication   

n.辞职；退位

参考例句：

• The officers took over and forced his abdication in 1947.1947年军官们接管了政权并迫使他退了位。
• Abdication is precluded by the lack of a possible successor.因为没有可能的继承人，让位无法实现。

12 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

13 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。