VOA慢速英语2021 青年活动家批评世界领导人缺乏应对气候变化行动

Young climate activists² have criticized world leaders for continually failing to follow through on climate change promises.

青年气候活动家批评世界领导人一直未能兑现气候变化方面的承诺。

The criticism came during the opening of an international gathering³ of about 400 youth climate activists that opened Tuesday in Milan, Italy. The purpose of the three-day Youth4Climate meeting is to decide on suggestions to send to a major United Nations climate summit set to begin October 31 in Glasgow, Scotland.

这些指责来自于周二在意大利米兰开幕的一场有400多名青年气候活动家参与的国际集会。这场为期三天的青年气候会议的目的是选定建议，然后提交给定于10月31日在苏格兰格拉斯哥举办的一场联合国重要气候峰会。

Well-known Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg spoke⁴ to the group. She said leaders have promised over the years to fight climate change. But she added that very little action has taken place since the first United Nations Earth Summit was held in 1992. "Thirty years of blah, blah, blah," the 18-year-old Thunberg said. "And where has this led us?"

著名的瑞典气候活动家格蕾塔·通贝里向这群人发表了讲话。她表示，领导人多年来承诺应对气候变化。但她补充表示，自1992年举办第一届联合国地球峰会以来，几乎没有采取任何行动。18岁的通贝里表示：“说了30年的废话，这把我们引向何方？”

She noted⁵ that half of all carbon emissions⁶ had happened since 1990 and one-third since 2005.

她指出，一半以上的碳排放发生在1990年之后，三分之一的碳排放发生在2005年之后。

"So-called leaders have cherry-picked young people to meetings like this to pretend they are listening to us, but they are not listening," Thunberg added.

通贝里还说：“所谓的领导人挑选年轻人参加这样的会议，假装他们在听取我们的意见，但是他们没有在听。”

She said emissions of carbon dioxide gas (CO2) emissions are still rising, and noted that "science doesn't lie." "Leaders like to say, ‘We can do it.' They obviously don't mean it. But we do," she told the gathering.

她说二氧化碳气体排放量仍在上升，并指出科学不会说谎。她对这群人表示：“领导人喜欢说‘我们可以做到’。他们显然不是这个意思，但是我们是。”

Another activist¹ to speak was 24-year-old Vanessa Nakate from Uganda. She said that promises of $117 billion a year to help nations especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change had not come through. She said the money is urgently needed as recent wildfires and floods in the United States and Europe showed that "loss and damage is now possible everywhere."

另一位发言的活动家是来自乌干达的24岁的瓦内萨·纳卡特。她表示，每年提供1170亿美元帮助特别容易受到气候变化影响的国家的承诺没有兑现。她说，最近欧美发生的野火和洪水表明现在到处都有可能遭受损失和破坏，因此这笔钱更加急需。

"No more empty conferences. It's time to show us the money," Nakate said. "It's time, it's time, it's time. And, don't forget to listen to the most affected⁷ people and areas."

纳卡特表示：“不要再开各种空洞会议了。是时候拿出钱来。是时候了，是时候了，是时候了。而且不要忘记倾听受影响最严重的人们和地区的意见。”

Nakate spoke about how climate change was affecting her own continent. Just last week, she said she saw police taking away a body that had been washed away by violent storms in Uganda's capital, Kampala. Her mother told her that one man caught in the water had been trying to save the goods he was selling from being washed away.

纳卡特谈到了气候变化如何影响到她所在的大陆。她说，就在上周，她在乌干达首都坎帕拉看到警察带走了一具被强风暴雨冲走的尸体。她的母亲告诉她，一名落水男子一直试图在避免他售卖的商品被冲走。

Thunberg created the worldwide protest movement Fridays for Future. She noted in her comments that it was not too late to turn around the harmful effects of climate change. She called for "constructive⁸" negotiations⁹ to move policies forward.

通贝里发起了全球周五为未来抗议运动。她在评论中指出，现在扭转气候变化的有害影响尚为时不晚。她呼吁进行建设性谈判以推动政策向前发展。

Later this week in Milan, about 50 of the world's climate ministers will meet to discuss issues to be considered at the U.N.'s Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. The Milan meeting will aim to find common ground on disagreements among countries. Among the issues to be discussed include how quickly climate change policies should be put in place and how they will be paid for.

本周晚些时候在米兰，大约50位世界气候部长将开会讨论在联合国格拉斯哥气候变化大会上的主要议题。这次米兰会议旨在就各国之间的分歧找到共同点。将要讨论的问题包括气候变化政策的落实速度和要付出的代价。

Hopes for a successful Glasgow summit have been raised by announcements from the world's two biggest economies and largest carbon polluters, the United States and China. Chinese President Xi Jinping said his country would no longer fund coal-fired plants abroad. And U.S. President Joe Biden announced a plan to double financial aid for green industry growth to poorer nations.

作为全球两个最大经济体和最大碳排放国的美国和中国的声明提高了人们对格拉斯哥会议取得成功的希望。中国国家主席习近平表示，中国将停止资助海外的燃煤电厂。美国总统乔·拜登宣布了一项计划，将翻倍向较贫穷国家提供绿色工业增长的财政援助。

1 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 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。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 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。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

9 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。