奧巴馬稱氣候變化威脅國家安全

NEW LONDON, Conn. — President Obama used a commencement address on Wednesday at the Coast Guard Academy to cast his push for urgent action to combat climate change as a national security imperative, saying that the warming of the planet poses an “immediate risk” to the United States.

康涅狄格州新倫敦——週三，奧巴馬總統利用在海岸警衛隊學院(Coast Guard Academy)畢業典禮發表講話的機會，要求採取緊急行動對抗氣候變化，稱這是國家安全方面的當務之急，奧巴馬錶示，全球變暖對美國構成“直接風險”。

The speech was part of an effort by Mr. Obama to make a multipronged case for his ambitious climate-change agenda, which he has identified as a top priority for the remainder of his time in office and as a central element of his legacy. Instead of promoting his plan strictly in environmental terms, he has pitched it as beneficial for the economy, necessary to protect public health and vital to the nation’s security.

奧巴馬正在多管齊下，推動頗具雄心的氣候變化議程，此次演講只是舉措之一。奧巴馬將該議程視爲剩餘執政時間的首要任務，同時也是其政治遺產的主要元素。他沒有嚴格地從環境角度推廣自己的計劃，而是宣稱保護環境有利於經濟發展，是保護公衆健康所必需的舉措，對國家安全至關重要。

“I am here today to say that climate change constitutes a serious threat to global security, an immediate risk to our national security, and, make no mistake, it will impact how our military defends our country,” Mr. Obama told about 4,200 people on an athletic field overlooking the water here, including about 200 graduates in crisp white dress uniforms. “And so we need to act, and we need to act now.”

“我今天要在這裏說明，氣候變化對全球安全構成嚴重威脅，給我們的國家安全帶來直接風險，不要搞錯，這會對軍隊保衛國家的方式造成影響，”奧巴馬在能夠俯瞰水面的體育場對大約4200名觀衆說。“因此，我們需要採取行動，現在就需要行動起來。”觀衆包括大約200名身穿嶄新白色制服的畢業生。

Mr. Obama repeated arguments he cites often to promote his climate change effort, including a litany of grim facts and figures about rising temperatures, swelling seas and vanishing sea ice, dismissing skeptics of the phenomenon or those who refuse to act on it as guilty of “negligence” and “dereliction of duty.”

奧巴馬重申了他推廣氣候變化計劃時常提到的理由，其中包括一連串與氣溫升高、海平面上升、海冰消失有關的的嚴峻事實和數據，認爲那些對此類現象持懷疑態度的人，以及拒絕爲此採取行動的人“疏忽大意”，“玩忽職守”。

“I know there are still some folks back in Washington who refuse to admit that climate change is real, and on a day like today, it’s hard to get too worried about it,” Mr. Obama said on a sunny day cooled by a chilly sea breeze. “The science is indisputable,” he said. “The planet is getting warmer.”

在這個陽光明媚、海風習習的清涼日子，奧巴馬錶示，“華盛頓還有一些人拒絕承認氣候變化是真實存在的。我知道在這種天氣的日子裏，人們很難擔心這個問題”。不過，“科學是毋庸置疑的，”他說。“地球正在變暖。”

But on Wednesday, he coupled those well-worn arguments with a national security-themed call to action to Coast Guard graduates just minutes before they received their commissions. The president argued that climate change has set off dangerous domino effects around the world, prompting a severe drought in Nigeria that was exploited by the terrorist group Boko Haram, and drought, crop failures and high food prices that “helped fuel the early unrest in Syria” before it descended into civil war.

但在週三，除了這些老生常談的觀點之外，他還以國家安全爲由，在海岸警衛隊學院的畢業生收到任職令之前幾分鐘呼籲他們採取行動。總統辯稱，氣候變化在世界各地引發了危險的多米諾骨牌效應，導致尼日利亞出現嚴重旱情，而恐怖組織博科哈拉姆(Boko Haram)則利用了這一點。乾旱、作物減產及高昂的食物價格“在一定程度上引發了敘利亞早期的動盪”，動盪後來升級爲內戰。

He told the graduates that their generation would have to invent, build and pioneer the energy-efficient technologies that would be needed to reverse the damaging effects of climate change. He said the Pentagon regarded the planet’s warming as a “threat multiplier.”

他對這些畢業生表示，他們這一代將需要創造、加強並倡導節能技術，節能技術對於扭轉氣候變化帶來的破壞性影響是必不可少的。他表示，五角大樓將全球變暖視作“威脅擴增器”。

“We all know what needs to happen — it’s no secret: The world finally has to start reducing its carbon emissions now,” the president said. “This is a place where we need you.”

“我們都知道需要去做什麼——這不是祕密：全世界最終還是必須從現在開始減少碳排放，”奧巴馬說。“這就是我們需要你們的地方。”

In March, Mr. Obama introduced a blueprint for cutting greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade in the United States by up to 28 percent from its level in 2005 levels. The plan, which hinges on new Environmental Protection Agency rules intended to drastically reduce planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from cars and coal-fired power plants, will be the White House’s formal submission to the United Nations ahead of a summit meeting on climate change in Paris in December.

今年3月，奧巴馬提出了一項計劃，即以2005年的排放水平爲準，在未來十年將美國的溫室氣體排放量最多減少28%。白宮將在今年12月巴黎舉辦氣候變化峯會之前，將該計劃正式提交給聯合國。該計劃以美國國家環境保護局(Environmental Protection Agency)的新規定爲基礎，這些規定旨在大幅減少汽車及燃煤發電站的二氧化碳排放量，而二氧化碳是導致全球變暖的罪魁禍首。

Mr. Obama faces strong opposition on climate change efforts from many Republicans and coal industry officials, who say the proposal is a vast executive overreach and would devastate the economy. Facing such resistance, the president is working to build support in other ways, including his focus on national defense.

奧巴馬在應對氣候變化方面面臨來自很多共和黨人及煤炭行業高管的強烈反對，他們聲稱該提議屬於巨大的過分行政干預，將會破壞經濟發展。面對這些阻力，奧巴馬努力通過各種方式尋求支持，比如強調國防工作。

“Denying it or refusing to deal with it endangers our national security. It undermines the readiness of our forces,” Mr. Obama said. “Politicians who say they care about military readiness ought to care about this as well.”

“否認或拒絕應對這個問題的態度給國家安全造成危害。這會削弱部隊的戰備能力，”奧巴馬說。“那些聲稱關心軍隊戰備能力的政治人士也應該關注這個問題。”

In a report issued on Wednesday, the White House said climate change would act as “an accelerant of instability around the world,” prompting water scarcity and food shortages that could escalate tensions and lead to overpopulation. It also said that rising temperatures would “change the nature of U.S. military missions,” increasing the demand for resources in the Arctic and coastal regions that would be affected by higher sea levels, and result in humanitarian crises that are larger and more frequent.

在週三發佈的報告中，白宮表示，氣候變化會成爲“世界各地不穩定局面的催化劑”，引發水荒和食物短缺，這會加劇衝突，導致人口過剩。白宮還表示，氣溫升高會“改變美國軍隊任務的性質”，加大北極和受海平面上升影響的沿海地區對資源的需求，引發更大規模、更加頻繁的人道主義危機。

The president said the conditions could create a global surge of “climate change refugees — and I guarantee the Coast Guard will have to respond.”

奧巴馬錶示，這種情況會導致全球“氣候變化難民數量激增——而且我確定，海岸警衛隊將需要進行應對”。

Closer to home, Mr. Obama said the effects of climate change were threatening critical infrastructure across the United States, including military posts and training grounds.

從國內來看，奧巴馬稱氣候變化帶來的影響對美國各地的關鍵基礎設施造成威脅，其中包括軍事哨所和訓練場地。

“Climate change, especially rising seas, is a threat to our homeland security — our economic infrastructure, and the safety and health of the American people,” Mr. Obama said.

奧巴馬稱，“氣候變化，特別是海平面上升，對我們的國土安全——經濟基礎設施，以及美國人民的安全和健康造成了威脅。”