[ti:World Leaders Gather for Climate Talks with ‘Everything at Stake’] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Several world leaders have said that humanity’s future [00:04.20]depends on efforts to fight climate change. [00:08.20]They say the risk of failure could be high for countries [00:12.24]attending the 26th U.N. Climate Change Conference, [00:16.16]known as COP26. [00:20.32]Six years ago, nearly 200 countries agreed to separate plans [00:25.60]to fight global warming in the 2015 Paris climate agreement. [00:31.04]On Sunday, leaders will meet in Glasgow, Scotland [00:35.00]to take the next step: Do more and do it faster. [00:41.28]Those efforts have not been easy. [00:43.88]Except for a small drop because of the COVID-19 pandemic, [00:48.60]carbon pollution from the burning of coal, [00:51.60]oil and natural gas is increasing, not falling. [00:57.68]The United Nations estimated that, between now and 2030, [01:02.56]the world will release up to 28 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases [01:07.88]beyond the limit set in the Paris agreement. [01:12.84]Many scientists say climate change is causing heat waves, [01:17.24]flooding, lack of rain and major storms around the world. [01:22.96]There were wildfires in Canada and Turkey, [01:26.48]flooding in Europe and China, and record heat [01:30.48]in Siberia and California’s Death Valley. [01:36.12]Extreme weather also has led to losses of human lives [01:40.60]and is estimated to cost the world’s economy [01:43.68]about $320 billion a year. [01:48.68]“Everything is at stake if the leaders do not take climate action,” [01:53.88]young Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate said. [01:59.48]“We cannot eat coal. We cannot drink oil, [02:03.28]and we cannot breathe so-called natural gas.” [02:08.76]European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans [02:12.64]said, “We are fighting for the survival of humanity.” [02:16.84]Dr. Maria Neira, director of public health and environment [02:21.76]at the World Health Organization, [02:23.96]added, “The unhealthy choices that are killing our planet [02:28.36]are killing our people as well.” [02:32.60]Pope Francis will not attend the COP26 meeting. [02:36.20]But he said before Friday’s meeting [02:38.80]with American President Joe Biden, [02:41.08]"These crises present us with the need to take decisions, [02:45.36]radical decisions that are not always easy." [02:49.36]The religious leader added, "...Moments of difficulty like these [02:53.84]also present opportunities, opportunities that we must not waste." [03:01.68]United Nations officials have proposed three targets [03:05.48]for negotiations at Glasgow: [03:08.88]Countries must promise to reduce carbon emissions [03:12.24]by 45 percent by 2030 compared with 2010. [03:19.00]Rich countries should contribute $100 billion a year [03:23.60]in aid to poor countries. [03:26.80]Half of that amount must be aimed [03:29.20]at dealing with climate change’s worst effects. [03:33.72]World leaders have recently admitted [03:36.28]some goals may not be met. [03:39.72]U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry told The Associated Press: [03:45.52]“There will be a gap” on emission targets. [03:49.52]That means the amount of gasses released [03:52.64]will not meet limits set by international negotiators. [03:58.52]Under the Paris agreement, [04:00.40]nations must reconsider their earlier promises [04:04.24]to limit carbon gasses every five years. [04:08.96]They are to come up with plans to cut even more and do it faster. [04:15.00]This year’s meeting, which was delayed one year by the pandemic, [04:19.40]is the first to include the required plans to set new targets. [04:25.96]In Paris, world leaders agreed [04:28.80]to limit the warming of the Earth’s atmosphere [04:32.00]to 1.5 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times. [04:38.28]But the world has already warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius since then. [04:45.56]A UN study released in August said the world [04:49.60]will cross the 1.5-degree-Celsius mark in the 2030s. [04:56.12]That is earlier than some past predictions. [05:00.04]The report’s scientists said warming has increased in recent years. [05:06.96]It also studied five possible situations [05:10.68]that might take place in the future. [05:13.88]They are based on how much carbon gas emissions [05:16.96]are cut by nations around the world. [05:20.88]In three possible situations, [05:23.64]worldwide average temperatures [05:26.28]will increase by more than 2 degrees Celsius [05:29.52]over pre-industrial times. [05:33.24]Small island nations in the Pacific Ocean [05:36.60]and other poor, at-risk communities said in 2015 [05:41.68]that a rise of 2 degrees Celsius would wipe them out. [05:47.80]“Our way of life is at stake,” said Tina Stege, [05:52.28]the climate representative for the Marshall Islands. [05:56.28]“Our ability to provide our children [05:59.40]with a safe and secure future is at stake.” [06:04.44]She added that island countries do not have higher ground [06:08.12]to which they can move their people. [06:12.20]In Glasgow, divisions between nations are big, [06:16.40]and trust is a problem, say several U.N. officials and outside experts. [06:23.52]Rich countries like the U.S. and European nations [06:27.12]have historically produced the most greenhouse gases. [06:31.44]Rich nations are now asking poor nations [06:34.48]to cut or end the use of fossil fuels: coal, oil and natural gas. [06:41.40]In return, they have promised – but have not given [06:45.32]- $100 billion a year by 2020 [06:48.68]to help developing countries switch to clean energy. [06:54.44]China is the world’s largest carbon emitter. [06:57.88]The country announced a new reduction target [07:01.20]that is not much stronger than its earlier promise. [07:05.52]The Climate Action Tracker estimated that even if every other nation [07:10.40]cuts emissions by 45 percent and China does not, [07:15.08]the world’s total will drop only by 30 percent. [07:20.92]United Nations Environment Program Director Inger Andersen [07:25.80]said China and the U.S. are very important. [07:30.44]“We need these two powers to put aside whatever else [07:34.52]and to show true climate leadership [07:37.56]because this is what it will take,” Andersen told the AP. [07:43.88]I’m Dan Novak. [07:45.68]And I'm Jill Robbins. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM