时代周刊:国际社会刚准备好直面气候问题 2020就来了(7)

Upcoming decisions in both of those countries,

形势迫在眉睫，

which combined are responsible for nearly half of global emissions¹, are urgent.

总排放量足足占到了全球排放量的一半左右的中美两国也急需做出各自的决定。

China is being pulled in two directions as it develops a plan that will set the course of its development—

此时的中国堪称左右为难，因为该国即将制定的计划事关其未来5年的发展路线，

and, by extension, its emissions—for the next half decade.

引申开来也会事关其未来五年的排放路线。

In March, as China's coronavirus epidemic² began to subside³, the nation's powerful Politburo Standing⁴ Committee,

今年3月，随着新冠疫情逐渐在该国消退，该国政治局常委，

which is made up of senior leaders of the Communist Party, including President Xi Jinping,

由国家主席习近平在内的共产党高级领导人组成，

endorsed⁵ a proposal to expedite $1.4 trillion in spending on so-called "new infrastructure⁶"

批准了一项加快1.4万亿美元的所谓“新基建”支出的提案，

that includes electric-vehicle charging stations and high-speed rail, as well as 5G technology,

该项目包括建设电动汽车充电站，高铁，5G技术

which wouldn't cut emissions per se but would help advance the country's tech sector⁷ rather than its heavy industry,

这一项目本身并不能有助于减少排放，但却能推动该国科技行业而非重工业的发展，

stimulating⁸ economic growth with lower emissions.

以较低的排放为前提实现刺激经济增长的目标。

But the degree of commitment to those green recovery measures remains⁹ unclear.

不过，该国究竟能否将这些绿色复苏举措坚持到底尚不明了。

The Politburo Standing Committee's push is unfunded, leaving provincial¹⁰ governments to follow through.

政治局常委的号召所需的资金尚且没有着落，具体执行还要看各地省政府。

So far, the evidence on the ground has not been encouraging.

现实证据表明情况并不太乐观。

External pressure is likely to force the issue, and the E.U. is trying to offer just that.

外部压力或将迫使该国立即表态，欧盟也正在为之努力。

To push China and others along, the bloc¹¹ is crafting a new tax on imports from countries that aren't reducing emissions.

为了推动中国和其他国家加入绿色复苏队伍，欧盟已经开始起草新规，对减排队伍之外的其他国家征收新的进口税。

Climate and trade are both currently being discussed by officials behind the scenes

有关官员正在秘密讨论气候及贸易问题，

and were planned to be on the top of the agenda at a now postponed¹² September summit between the E.U. and China.

原本计划于9月召开，现已推迟的欧盟中国峰会也将上述两大问题提上了首要议程。

"Europe is a very important market for the Chinese," says Laurence Tubiana,

“对中国人而言，欧洲是一个非常重要的市场，”劳伦斯·图比亚纳说。

the CEO of the European Climate Foundation and a key architect of the Paris Agreement.

此人是欧洲气候基金会的首席执行官，也是《巴黎协定》的主要设计师。

"China can be secured in its potential exports to Europe

“中国对欧洲的出口机会是有保障的，

by understanding that it can secure positive trade relations by increasing its climate ambition."

前提是要明白中国可以通过上调气候目标稳固与欧洲的积极贸易关系。”

Still, when it comes to turning the climate ship around,

尽管如此，涉及让气候大船掉头的问题时，

there's no substitute for the U.S., and the country has already missed opportunities.

没有哪个国家能跟美国一个量级，问题是，该国已经错失了机会。

For example, before doling¹³ out bailout money,

例子之一就是，

France demanded that Air France stop operating emissions-intensive short routes,

法国在发放救助金之前就先对法国航空提出了停飞排放密集型的短途航线的要求，

and Austria forced Austrian Airlines to agree to cut its emissions 30% by 2030.

奥地利也强行让奥地利航空公司同意在2030年之前将排放量减少30%。

Contrast that with the U.S, where the government decreed that to receive federal dollars,

相比之下，美国政府下发的命令是，美国的航空公司要想获取联邦资金，

airlines could not drop any of their destinations— even if that meant flying planes empty—

就不能取消任何目的地——即便空飞也不能取消——

and Congress rejected an attempt from several Democratic Senators to attach green strings¹⁴ to the airline bailout.

不仅如此，几位民主党参议院试图在航空公司救助计划中增加绿色要求的尝试也遭到了国会的拒绝。

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 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

3 subside   

vi.平静，平息；下沉，塌陷，沉降

参考例句：

• The emotional reaction which results from a serious accident takes time to subside.严重事故所引起的情绪化的反应需要时间来平息。
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon.围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

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 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

11 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

12 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

13 doling   

救济物( dole的现在分词 )； 失业救济金

参考例句：

• "What are you doling?'she once demanded over the intercom. 有一次他母亲通过对讲机问他：“你在干什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• Many scrollbars are quite parsimonious in doling out information to users. 很多滚动条都很吝啬，给用户传递的信息太少。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

14 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。