金墉：让气候变化成为优先事项
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爱思英语编者按：金墉（Jim Yong Kim），1959年出生于韩国首尔，韩裔美国人、现任达特茅斯学院校长。是一位人类学家和医生。金永吉2009年起担任美国常春藤盟校之一的达特茅斯学院校长。他曾任世界卫生组织总干事顾问，世界卫生组织艾滋病防治主管，哈佛大学医学院社会医学系主任。金永吉1991年获哈佛大学医学院硕士，1993年获哈佛大学人类学博士。世界银行2012年4月16日宣布选择美国提名的金墉为世行行长。 金墉：让气候变化成为优先事项 Make Climate Change a Priority Jim Yong Kim The Washington Post January 24, 2013
The weather in Washington has been like a roller coaster this January. Yes, there has been a deep freeze this week, but it was the sudden warmth earlier in the month that was truly alarming. Flocks of birds — robins, wrens, cardinals and even blue jays – swarmed bushes with berries, eating as much as they could. Runners and bikers wore shorts and T-shirts. People worked in their gardens as if it were spring. 华盛顿今年一月的天气就像过山车，是的，本周是天寒地冻，但着实令人惊恐的是本月早些时候天气突然变暖，接着成群的知更鸟、鹪鹩、北美红雀甚至樫鸟蜂拥而至，在结着浆果的灌木丛中大快朵颐。跑步和骑自行车的人穿上了短裤和T恤衫。人们在自家的花园里劳作，就像春天已经来临。 The signs of global warming are becoming more obvious and more frequent. A glut of extreme weather conditions is appearing globally. And the average temperature in the United States last year was the highest ever recorded. 全球变暖的迹象日渐明显和频繁。极端天气状况在全球各地大量出现，而美国2012年的平均气温创下历史最高纪录。 As economic leaders gathered in Davos this week for the World Economic Forum, much of the conversation was about finances. But climate change should also be at the top of our agendas, because global warming imperils all of the development gains we have made. 当世界各国的经济领导人本周齐聚达沃斯时，大部分对话将是关于全球经济状况的。但气候变化应当排在我们的议程首位，因为全球变暖的影响已危及到过去十年取得的一切发展成果。 If there is no action soon, the future will become bleak. The World Bank Group released a report in November that concluded that the world could warm by 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) by the end of this century if concerted action is not taken now. 如果不尽快采取行动，未来将变得黯淡无光。世界银行集团去年下半年发布的一份报告指出，如果不立即采取一致行动，到本世纪末全球气温就会升高华氏7.2度（摄氏4度）。 A world that warm means seas would rise 1.5 to 3 feet, putting at risk hundreds of millions of city dwellers globally. It would mean that storms once dubbed “once in a century” would become common, perhaps occurring every year. And it would mean that much of the United States, from Los Angeles to Kansas to the nation’s capital, would feel like an unbearable oven in the summer. 全球气温上升意味着海平面升高1.5～3英尺，将全球数亿城市居民置于风险之中；意味着过去“百年一遇”的风暴成为家常便饭，也许每年一次；还意味着美国的大部分地区，从洛杉矶市区到堪萨斯平原到首都华盛顿在夏天都会变成酷热难耐的火炉。 My wife and I have two sons, ages 12 and 3. When they grow old, this could be the world they inherit. That thought alone makes me want to be part of a global movement that acts now. 我和妻子有两个儿子，一个12岁，另一个3岁。当我们的小儿子长到我现在的年龄时，这可能就是他将要继承的世界。只要想到这一点，我就想要采取行动，我就想要成为一场全球性运动中的一员，马上行动起来。 Even as global climate negotiations continue, there is a need for urgent action outside the conventions. People everywhere must focus on where we will get the most impact to reduce emissions and build resilience in cities, communities and countries. 在进行全球气候谈判的同时，有必要在公约之外也紧急行动起来。各地的人民都必须把注意力集中在对减排和建立 城市、社区和国家的抵御能力影响最大的领域。 Strong leadership must come from the six big economies that account for two-thirds of the energy sector’s global carbon dioxide emissions. President Obama’s reference in his inaugural address this week to addressing climate and energy could help reignite this critical conversation domestically and abroad. 强有力的领导力必须来自目前占能源行业全球二氧化碳排放三分之二的六大经济体。奥巴马总统本周在就职演说中提到解决气候和能源问题，这有助于在国内外重启这一关键性的对话。 The world’s top priority must be to get finance flowing and get prices right on all aspects of energy costs to support low-carbon growth. Achieving a predictable price on carbon that accurately reflects real environmental costs is key to delivering emission reductions at scale. Correct energy pricing can also provide incentives for investments in energy efficiency and cleaner energy technologies. 世界的首要任务必须是调动资金和理顺能源成本各个方面的定价以支持低碳增长。实现可预测的碳价，使其准确地反映实际环境成本，这是实现大规模减排的关键。正确的能源定价也能为提高能效和采用更清洁的能源技术投资提供激励。 A second immediate step is to end harmful fuel subsidies globally, which could lead to a 5?percent fall in emissions by 2020. Countries spend more than $500?billion annually in fossil-fuel subsidies and an additional $500?billion in other subsidies, often related to agriculture and water, that are, ultimately, environmentally harmful. That trillion dollars could be put to better use for the jobs of the future, social safety nets or vaccines. 需要立即采取的第二个步骤是在全球范围取消有害的燃料补贴，这样做可以导致到2020年将碳排放减少5%。各国每年花费5000多亿美元在化石燃料补贴上，5000多亿美元在其他补贴上。我们可以把这一万多亿美元花在更好的用途上，用于创造未来的就业机会，构建社会安全网，或者用于防疫。 A third focus is on cities. The largest 100 cities that contribute 67?percent of energy-related emissions are both the center of innovation for green growth and the most vulnerable to climate change. We have seen great leadership, for example, in New York and Rio de Janeiro on low-carbon growth and tackling practices that fuel climate change. 第三个关注点是城市。一百个最大的城市在与能源有关的碳排放中占67%，这些城市既处在为实现绿色增长开展创新的中心，也最容易受到气候变化的影响。我们看到诸如纽约和里约等城市在低碳增长和应对气候变化方面发挥了杰出的领导作用。 At the World Bank Group, through the $7 billion-plus Climate Investment Funds, we are managing forests, spreading solar energy and promoting green expansion for cities, all with a goal of stopping global warming. We also are in the midst of a major reexamination of our own practices and policies. 世界银行集团通过总额70多亿美元的气候投资基金致力于森林管理，推广太阳能，促进城市实行绿色扩张，总的目标都是为了遏制全球变暖。我们也在重新审视自身的做法和政策。 Just as the Bretton Woods institutions were created to prevent a third world war, the world needs a bold global approach to help avoid the climate catastrophe it faces today. The World Bank Group is ready to work with others to meet this challenge. With every investment we make and every action we take, we should have in mind the threat of an even warmer world and the opportunity of inclusive green growth. 正如成立布雷顿森林机构是为了防止新的世界大战，我们也需要建立一个全球机制来帮助防范迫在眉睫的气候灾难。世界银行集团准备好迎接这一挑战。我们在做每一项投资和采取每一项行动时，都须将全球气温升高7华氏度的威胁和包容性绿色增长的机遇铭记在心。 After the hottest year on record in the United States, a year in which Hurricane Sandy caused billions of dollars in damage, record droughts scorched farmland in the Midwest and our organization reported that the planet could become more than 7 degrees warmer, what are we waiting for? We need to get serious fast. The planet, our home, can’t wait. 在美国经历了有史以来最热的一年之后，在飓风桑迪造成数十亿美元损失、中西部地区的农田遭受史上最严重干旱而世行报告说全球气温可能升高华氏7度以上之后，我们还等什么？我们需要立即认真对待。地球——我们的家园——不能再等待。 |
