歐盟稱德班會議就減排路線圖取得進展

As the first week of negotiations at the U.N. climate change conference in South Africa comes to a close, the European Union says support is growing for a new legally-binding agreement to cut emissions. But the United States and other countries remain strongly opposed to the idea.

在南非舉行的聯合國氣候變化談判會議已進行了將近一個星期。歐盟稱，支持一項新的具有法律約束力的減排協議的國家日益增多。但是美國和其它國家依然強烈反對。

EU negotiators are urging other pArties at the COP17 climate talks in Durban to agree to a “roadmap” that would lead to a climate treaty that would legally bind governments to cut emissions blamed for climate change.

歐盟談判代表敦促在德班參加聯合國氣候變化框架公約第17次締約方會議(COP17)的其他談判各方通過一個“路線圖”，從而最終達成一項具有法律約束力的氣候條約，讓各國政府減少造成氣候變化的溫室氣體排放。

The Polish head of the EU delegation, Tomasz Chruszczow, said there is growing support for such a measure.

率領歐盟代表團的波蘭代表托馬什·赫魯曉夫說，支持這一舉措的國家日益增多。

“Many parties see that the goal of keeping the global warming within the limits, within two degrees, requires urgent action," said Chruszczow." And extreme weather events on the ground and that warning contained in the recent spate of reports from international institutions and organizations made it very hard to escape this kind of conclusion.”

赫魯曉夫說：“許多談判方認識到，要實現將全球變暖幅度保持在2攝氏度以內的目標需要採取緊急行動。極端的氣候事件以及國際機構和組織最近的報告中發出的警告表明很難迴避這一結論。”

The EU proposal would follow the current legal framework established under the Kyoto Protocol, which is set to expire next year. The EU wants the parties at COP17 to agree to establish a new treaty by 2015 that would go into effect by 2020.

歐盟的建議仿效《京都議定書》建立的現有法律框架。《京都議定書》將於2012年年底到期。歐盟希望聯合國氣候變化框架公約第17次締約方會議(COP 17)的談判各方同意在2015年之前建立一個新條約，這一新條約將在2020年之前生效。

Recent reports support the EU's argument that further cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, like carbon dioxide, are necessary to keep global temperatures from increasing to dangerous levels.

最近的一些報告支持歐盟的觀點，即爲了防止全球氣溫上升到危險水平，有必要進一步減少溫室氣體、比如二氧化碳的排放。

The International Energy Agency has warned that the world has about five years left to significantly cut carbon emissions in order to prevent irreversible climate change.

國際能源機構已警告說，全球還剩下大約5年的時間來大量減少碳排放，以防止出現不可逆轉的氣候變化。

The European Union is trying to convince developing countries to sign on to such an agreement.

歐盟正設法說服發展中國家簽署這樣的協議。EU negotiator Artur Runge-Metzger noted the EU's success with the current program, saying the EU's emissions have dropped below 1990 levels while overall, the continent's economy has continued to grow.

歐盟談判代表阿圖爾·龍格-梅茨格指出了歐盟在遵守現有條約方面的成功。他說，歐盟的排放量已經下降到低於1990年的水平，而與此同時，歐洲經濟總體上繼續增長。

“Because a lot of fear that is in this process is about 'I can either fight climate change or I can grow my economy,' but we can show, and that's a big example here, that we can do both at the same time," he said.

龍格-梅茨格說：“因爲有許多人擔心，在這個過程中，‘我要麼防止氣候變化，要麼使經濟增長，’但是我們能表明，歐洲就是個很好的例子，我們可以兩者兼顧。”

The United States did not adopt the Kyoto Protocol, and U.S. climate negotiators have said they will not support a legal mandate to cut emissions without knowing the details of such an agreement.

美國不採納《京都議定書》，美國的氣候談判代表表示，在不瞭解減排協議細節的情況下，他們不會支持這樣的法律指令。

Commenting on the EU's proposed roadmap, U.S. deputy climate change envoy Jonathan Pershing said it would have to bind all parties equally.

美國氣候變化副特使喬納森·潘興在評論歐盟提出的路線圖時說，它必須平等地約束所有各方。

“We're not looking for a mechanism in which we would have an obligation to reduce emissions of a legal form and the major emerging economies would have a voluntary program," said Pershing. "That's kind of the Kyoto structure. We are not a party to Kyoto, in no small measure, because of that constraint.”

潘興說：“我們不想要一個我們有義務減排而主要新興經濟體可以自願減排的機制。這就像是京度議定書的規定。我們不是京度議定書的締約方，大部分就是因爲這樣的規定。”

The United States has argued that the voluntary emissions reductions that governments agreed to at the last climate conference in Cancun, Mexico are unlikely to change over the coming years.

美國爭論說，在上一次的墨西哥坎昆氣候會議上，各國政府所同意的自願減排今後幾年都不可能改變。

The U.S. has been trying to start discussions, instead, on what can be done after 2020.

美國一直在設法開始討論在2020年之後可以做些什麼。