欧盟称德班会议就减排路线图取得进展

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.

在南非举行的联合国气候变化谈判会议已进行了将近一个星期。欧盟称，支持一项新的具有法律约束力的减排协议的国家日益增多。但是美国和其它国家依然强烈反对。

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.

欧盟谈判代表敦促在德班参加联合国气候变化框架公约第17次缔约方会议(COP17)的其他谈判各方通过一个“路线图”，从而最终达成一项具有法律约束力的气候条约，让各国政府减少造成气候变化的温室气体排放。

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

率领欧盟代表团的波兰代表托马什·赫鲁晓夫说，支持这一举措的国家日益增多。

“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.”

赫鲁晓夫说：“许多谈判方认识到，要实现将全球变暖幅度保持在2摄氏度以内的目标需要采取紧急行动。极端的气候事件以及国际机构和组织最近的报告中发出的警告表明很难回避这一结论。”

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.

欧盟的建议仿效《京都议定书》建立的现有法律框架。《京都议定书》将于2012年年底到期。欧盟希望联合国气候变化框架公约第17次缔约方会议(COP 17)的谈判各方同意在2015年之前建立一个新条约，这一新条约将在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.

最近的一些报告支持欧盟的观点，即为了防止全球气温上升到危险水平，有必要进一步减少温室气体、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.

国际能源机构已警告说，全球还剩下大约5年的时间来大量减少碳排放，以防止出现不可逆转的气候变化。

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

欧盟正设法说服发展中国家签署这样的协议。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.

欧盟谈判代表阿图尔·龙格-梅茨格指出了欧盟在遵守现有条约方面的成功。他说，欧盟的排放量已经下降到低于1990年的水平，而与此同时，欧洲经济总体上继续增长。

“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.

龙格-梅茨格说：“因为有许多人担心，在这个过程中，‘我要么防止气候变化，要么使经济增长，’但是我们能表明，欧洲就是个很好的例子，我们可以两者兼顾。”

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.

美国不采纳《京都议定书》，美国的气候谈判代表表示，在不了解减排协议细节的情况下，他们不会支持这样的法律指令。

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

美国气候变化副特使乔纳森·潘兴在评论欧盟提出的路线图时说，它必须平等地约束所有各方。

“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.”

潘兴说：“我们不想要一个我们有义务减排而主要新兴经济体可以自愿减排的机制。这就像是京度议定书的规定。我们不是京度议定书的缔约方，大部分就是因为这样的规定。”

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.

美国争论说，在上一次的墨西哥坎昆气候会议上，各国政府所同意的自愿减排今后几年都不可能改变。

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

美国一直在设法开始讨论在2020年之后可以做些什么。