COP28 Meeting in Dubai Centers on ‘Phase Out’ or ‘Phase Down’ of Fossil

COP28 Meeting in Dubai Centers on ‘Phase Out’ or ‘Phase Down’ of Fossil Fuels

迪拜COP28会议聚焦“逐步淘汰”或“逐步减少”化石燃料

【原文听力】

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　　By Dan Friedell

　　05 December 2023

　　The world's climate negotiators are meeting this month in Dubai for the COP28 United Nations Climate Conference. Activists, scientists and U.N. officials want the representatives to make plans to "phase out" the use of fossil fuels as an energy source.

　　However, some representatives are using the term "phase down" instead.

　　To "phase out" means to end something slowly through a planned series of steps. But to "phase down" means to slowly reduce the use of something instead of stopping completely.

　　The concern, say climate scientists, is that the time for a "phase down" is over.

　　Bill Hare is a climate scientist and the CEO of Climate Analytics. He said unless the result of the meeting is a "phase out," there is unlikely to be an "improvement in temperature."

　　The COP28 meeting runs until December 12. During last year's COP27 event, negotiators agreed to plans that would limit global temperature warming to only 2.4 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial times.

　　But a recently updated report found that the world is going in the wrong direction. The report, called the Climate Action Tracker, found that the world is on target for a 2.5-degree rise. It added that several nations, including Indonesia and Iran, have increased their use of fossil fuels. These increases are part of why the world is warming more quickly.

　　Adnan Amin is the leader of COP28. He is former Director-General of the UN's International Renewable Energy Agency. He said the negotiators have so far produced a "pretty comprehensive" draft for a central outline of the meeting. The draft is called the Global Stocktake. He said he expects a "very intensive engagement process" between the negotiators during the next week of meetings.

　　The draft is 24 pages long and covers a number of issues. However the greatest concern is the choice between a "phasedown of ... coal power" or "an orderly and just phase out of fossil fuels."

　　Amin noted that, coming into the event, he did not believe it would be possible to even include "phase out" language in the document. He said some countries are not prepared to agree to a phase out because they require fossil fuel energy to grow their economies.

　　Critics and activists note that some countries signed on to last year's plan but moved forward with expanding their use of fossil fuels.

　　Ana Missirliu is an analyst at the New Climate Institute. She said she has seen "worrying announcements" in the last year. She pointed to the host nation of COP28 – the United Arab Emirates – announcing a $150-billion expansion of its oil and gas industry. She also pointed to expansions in the United States, Britain and Saudi Arabia.

　　Several protest groups are in Dubai. They are holding up signs in "action zones" near the UN event. The protesters are asking the representatives to push for a "phase out."

　　Although there may be some nations pushing for language that does not require a "phase out," many countries are planning to increase their use of renewable energy. More than 100 countries say they will triple their ability to create clean energy and double their energy efficiency by the end of the decade.

　　I'm Dan Friedell.

　　Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press.

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　　作者：Dan Friedell

　　日期：2023年12月5日

　　全球的气候谈判代表们本月在迪拜参加COP28联合国气候会议。活动家、科学家和联合国官员希望代表们制定计划，逐步淘汰化石燃料作为能源的使用。

　　然而，一些代表使用的词是"逐步减少"。

　　"逐步淘汰"意味着通过一系列计划的步骤慢慢结束某事。但是"逐步减少"意味着慢慢减少使用某物，而不是完全停止。

　　气候科学家们表示，他们担心的是，"逐步减少"的时机已经过去。

　　Bill Hare是一位气候科学家，也是Climate Analytics的首席执行官。他说，除非会议的结果是"逐步淘汰"，否则温度的"改善"不太可能实现。

　　COP28会议将持续到12月12日。在去年的COP27会议上，谈判代表们同意了一项计划，该计划将全球温度升高限制在工业化前的2.4摄氏度之内。

　　但是，最近更新的一份报告发现，世界正在走向错误的方向。这份名为"气候行动追踪器"的报告发现，世界正朝着2.5度的升温目标前进。报告还指出，包括印度尼西亚和伊朗在内的几个国家，已经增加了他们对化石燃料的使用。这些增加是世界更快升温的原因之一。

　　Adnan Amin是COP28的领导者，他曾是联合国国际可再生能源机构的总干事。他表示，谈判代表们到目前为止已经制定了一份“相当全面”的会议主要议题草案，这份草案被称为“全球盘点”。他预计在接下来的一周会议中，谈判代表们将进行“非常密集的交流过程”。

　　这份草案长达24页，涵盖了许多问题。然而，最大的关注点是选择“逐步减少...煤电”还是“有序公正地淘汰化石燃料”。

　　Amin指出，在进入这次活动时，他并不认为在文件中包含“淘汰”这个词是可能的。他说，一些国家并未准备好同意淘汰化石燃料，因为他们需要化石燃料能源来发展他们的经济。

　　批评者和活动家指出，一些国家签署了去年的计划，但却继续扩大他们的化石燃料使用。

　　Ana Missirliu是新气候研究所的一名分析师。她表示，她在过去的一年里看到了一些“令人担忧的声明”。她指出，COP28的主办国——阿联酋宣布了其石油和天然气行业1500亿美元的扩张。她还提到了美国、英国和沙特阿拉伯的扩张。

　　有几个抗议团体在迪拜。他们在联合国活动附近的“行动区”举起标语。抗议者们要求代表们推动“淘汰”。

　　尽管可能有一些国家在推动不需要“淘汰”的措辞，但许多国家正计划增加他们的可再生能源使用。超过100个国家表示，他们将在本十年结束时将清洁能源产能提高三倍，能源效率提高两倍。

　　我是Dan Friedell。

　　Dan Friedell根据美联社的一份报告，为英语学习改编了这个故事。

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　　这个故事中的词汇

　　phase (out or down) –v.慢慢引入某物，

　　global –adj.与整个世界有关，

　　comprehensive –adj.包括许多或大多数事物，

　　draft –n.写作或文档的第一个版本，而不是最终版，

　　engagement –n. 与某事物有关的行为或状态，

　　analyst –n. 研究某个主题然后提出建议的人，

　　triple –v. 将某物增加300%或三倍，

　　efficiency –n. 无浪费资源地做某事或生产某物的能力。