VOA常速英语2016--德班气候大会深入讨论多项重要议题

德班气候大会深入讨论多项重要议题

Negotiators representing nearly 200 nations worked through the night and well into the daySaturday, with hopes of leaving Durban with solid deals in place. Among the key issues beingdiscussed is whether to adopt a second commitment period of at least five years to the KyotoProtocol - a pact 2, enacted 3 in 2007 that legally binds 4 governments to cut emissions 5. Thecurrent proposal being considered would extend the Kyoto Protocol 1 for another term, if, inexchange, the United States, China and other big countries that are not a part of it, agree tonegotiate a future replacement 6 deal to cut emissions after 2020. But even if a deal is reachedhere in Durban, some observers say the terms are still insufficient 7 to combat climate change.Alden Meyer is from the Union of Concerned Scientists. It's all well and good to talk about long-term treaties post 2020, and that's essential and we support that and want to get a decisionhere launching a process to do that. But we also need a near term process to raise the level ofambition collectively, both developed and developing countries, to try to substantially raiseefforts to close what's called the gigaton gap, which is the gap between the emissionsreductions we have on the table and those that have to be made to stay under two degrees.Two degrees centigrade is the amount by which scientists say the Earth can warm beforecausing irreversible damage to life systems. Another big issue is setting up the Green ClimateFund, which is supposed to provide financing for environmental projects in developingcountries. Countries have had a hard time agreeing on what sources of funding will be used forthe fund, and on other technical aspects. Harjeet Singh of ActionAid says it looks increasinglyunlikely there will be a complete fund before the next climate conference in Qatar. Things arenot looking very positive on the Green Climate Fund we see that the operationalization that wewere expecting to definitely have happened in Durban, it's not really happening. It has beenmoved to next year so between now and Qatar it may happen sometime, which is quitedepressing. Singh said the United States, which has been asking that private firms have moreaccess to the fund, is largely responsible for the delay. Time is running out for a major deal tocombat climate change, and many environmental ministers involved in the talks have alreadystarted heading home. Some of the employees at the conference center have been asked tobe available to work again on Sunday, suggesting negotiations 8 may have a long way to go.Gabe Joselow, VOA news, Durban.

近200多个国家的谈判代表加班加点地从周五工作到周六白天，只为能在南非德班就能敲定议题。其中一个议题就是：是否要延续京都协议书，加入不少于5年的第二期。京东协议书于2007年颁布，旨在限制各国政府减少排放量。如果包括美国和中国在内的一些大国同意在2020年后通过某些替换协议来减少排放量作为交换，那二期协议将会被通过。但一些观察家称，即便该项议题能在德班敲定，也无法力挽狂澜地对抗当前的气候挑战。下面是忧思科学家联盟奥尔登的观点。现在能够讨论2020年后的长期协议是件好事，也很有必要。忧思科学家联盟的同仁们也支持这种做法，希望能在德班敲定这件事，以便促进2020年后协议的落实。但近期来看，我们也需要提升各国在解决气候问题方面的决心，无论是发展中国家还是发达国家，都应该聚力缩小十亿吨的差距，这一差距是指我们纸面上的最高减排目标和维持安全阈的最低目标。许多科学家认为，最低目标的2摄氏度是维持全球生态系统免于不可逆转损害所能提升的最高温度值。

在德班期间讨论的另一个重大议题有关建立绿色气候基金，该基金旨在为发展中国家的环保项目融资。一直以来，各国有关该基金的融资渠道和其他技术问题一直难以达成共识。国际行动援助的辛格表示，现在看来，到下次卡塔尔气候会议之前要实现该项基金正式成立的可能性越发减小。绿色气候资金的成立前景不太乐观。我们本来一直希望能在德班会议期间确定该基金的操作性，但事情并非如我们所愿。该议题已被推至明年，因此在卡塔尔会议召开前才有可能敲定基金的各方面解决方案，真让人沮丧。辛格称，绿色气候基金的推迟敲定责任主要在美国，因为美国一直要求私企对该基金有更多的使用权。应对气候变化的主要解决方案还没有敲定，然而时间所剩无几，很多谈判代表已经准备回家。会议中心的很多员工接到周日可能加班的要求，这表明谈判敲定尚不明朗。感谢您收听加布从德班为您发回的VOA新闻。