VOA新闻杂志2022--巴基斯坦洪灾加剧了气候变化赔款的争论

Pakistan’s Floods Add to Climate Change Payments Debate

In Pakistan, every part of Rajul Noor's life has been wrecked¹ by this summer's huge floods. The 12-year-old girl's family home was destroyed, as was the school that she loved. The friends she used to walk to school and play with have fled to other areas.

"Our whole world is underwater, and nobody has helped us," Noor told The Associated Press. Her family now lives in a tent in Dadu district in Pakistan's Sindh province.

Almost 100 percent of the district's cotton and rice crops were destroyed. More than half its primary and secondary schools were fully² or partially³ damaged, local officials say. This level of damage is seen in towns and cities across Pakistan.

Scientists have said climate change helped increase the monsoon⁴ rains this summer. The storms brought three-and-a-half times the normal amount of rain, leaving a third of the country underwater. At least 1,300 people were killed. Another 33 million across Pakistan have been affected⁵ by the flooding.

The widespread, costly⁶ destruction has led some Pakistani officials to call on other nations to provide financial assistance to help Pakistan deal with the disaster. The officials argue that because richer, developed countries produce more climate-harming pollution, they should be responsible for giving money to poorer countries who suffer because of it.

Estimates have shown that Pakistan added just 0.8 percent to the world's carbon emissions⁸. But it now faces damages estimated at more than $30 billion. This is more than 10 percent of its gross domestic product, or GDP. The amount includes 2 million damaged or destroyed homes, nearly 24,000 schools, about 1,500 health centers and 13,000 kilometers of roads. Many bridges, hotels, dams and other structures were also destroyed.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, said: "These 33 million Pakistanis are paying in the form of their lives and livelihoods¹⁰ for the industrialization of bigger countries."

Developed nations have repeatedly rejected the idea that they owe money to less-developed ones. But Pakistan and other developing countries want the issue to be seriously discussed at COP27, next month's international climate conference in Egypt.

Margeretha Wewerinke-Singh is an assistant professor of international public law at Leiden University in the Netherlands. She noted¹¹ one argument that supports legal action. International law says states have a duty not to cause harm to the environment of other states. Violations¹² can cause an obligation to either pay money or restore the situation to what it was before the damage.

Wewerinke-Singh said Pakistan could bring cases in national courts against governments or companies that pollute. She compared this to past lawsuits¹³ brought against tobacco companies for the harm their smoking products caused. Wewerinke-Singh said the cases involving tobacco seemed unusual and unlikely to succeed at first but were very successful in the end.

Pakistan's prime minister and foreign minister have both made clear that their country is not demanding reparations. Instead, they have said they think rich nations have a moral obligation to help Pakistan as a victim of climate change.

The issue becomes more complex with the question of how much Pakistan's own policies might also have worsened the effects of flooding disasters.

Pakistan approved a national flood protection plan in 2017 but never put it in place. The World Bank offered $200 million in assistance to pay for flood protection projects in the country's Baluchistan province. But the money was suspended because of Pakistan's lack of progress. The projects were supposed to have been completed this month.

In addition, no reforms were put in place after severe flooding in 2010 that killed nearly 2,000 people, said Daanish Mustafa. He helped create Pakistan's first climate change response plan.

Mustafa has suggested that Pakistan take important actions to reduce the damage from future flooding events. These include removing materials that block the natural flow of water and preventing the building of homes in high-risk flood areas.

In Dadu, Noor is trying to push ahead with normal daily life. But many things have changed in her usual routine. "I lived happily at home. I miss everything about it," she said. "It makes me cry."

Words in This Story

monsoon –n. a period of the year with heavy rain

emission⁷ –n. the act of releasing something

gross domestic product –n. the total value of goods produced and services provided by a country in a single year

livelihood⁹ –n. jobs or activities which provide the main source of money for a person or family

obligation –n. a duty

reparations –n. money and other forms of support and payment that a state gives to another state or group for damages and injuries they caused, often due to war or historical injustices¹⁴

routine –n. a series of actions that are repeated in the same way in a given situation

1 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

4 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

5 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。

6 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。

7 emission   

n.发出物，散发物；发出，散发

参考例句：

• Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
• Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。

8 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。

9 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

10 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

11 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。

12 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

13 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

14 injustices   

不公平( injustice的名词复数 )； 非正义； 待…不公正； 冤枉

参考例句：

• One who committed many injustices is doomed to failure. 多行不义必自毙。
• He felt confident that his injustices would be righted. 他相信他的冤屈会受到昭雪的。