VOA常速英语2007-New Organization to Focus on Humanitarian Impact

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
17 October 2007

Former United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, calls climate change one of the most critical and threatening issues in the world today.  Annan Wednesday launched a new organization, the Global Humanitarian¹ Forum².  He says the primary focus will be on the impact of climate change on the poor and most vulnerable. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva where the Forum is based.

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan says he has a line-up of world leaders, scientists, academicians and humanitarian experts who will pool their talents to help the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world adapt to climate change.

He says climate change is happening now and it is not limited to one part of the world.  It affects both rich and poor.

"We are all in the same boat, and we all need to come together to resolve it," Annan said. "One cannot be secure at the expense of the other.  And it is just a problem that we need to tackle…We need a two-pronged approach and they must move ahead concurrently³.  Mitigation, that is curbing⁴ greenhouse gases and adaptation, making sure vulnerable communities are protected"  

Rajendra Pachauri is Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the organization that was awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize along with former U.S. Vice⁵ President Al Gore⁶.  Pachauri is on the forum's board. 

He says the poor and most vulnerable have no choice but to adapt to climate change.

"The inertia⁷ in the system is such that even if we were to stabilize⁸ the concentration of greenhouse gases and therefore temperatures on this planet to a reasonable level, the impacts of climate change will continue for a long time," Pachauri said. "In the case of sea-level rise, it will continue for decades, if not centuries or a millennium⁹." 

Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at New York's Columbia University, is also on the Forum's board. He says some  places on the planet are already suffering from climate change.  He says successfully adapting is a matter of peace on earth.

"Many of the conflict-ridden, impoverished¹⁰ places on the planet, in the Horn of Africa, in Sudan, in other places, have as a source of the conflict, not the only source ever, but one of the factors, grave environmental stress, often water-stress related to climate change," Sachs said. "And this I think myself, is certainly the case in Darfur, Sudan." 

Sachs says Darfur is a region running out of water. He says the region's long-term decline in rainfall is linked to global climate change and is a major factor in the war, which has created a humanitarian disaster for millions of people.

1 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

2 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

3 concurrently   

adv.同时地

参考例句：

• He was given two twelve month sentences to run concurrently. 他两罪均判12个月监禁，同期执行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was given two prison sentences, to run concurrently. 他两罪均判监禁，同期执行。 来自辞典例句

4 curbing   

n.边石，边石的材料v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Progress has been made in curbing inflation. 在控制通货膨胀方面已取得了进展。
• A range of policies have been introduced aimed at curbing inflation. 为了抑制通货膨胀实施了一系列的政策。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

7 inertia   

adj.惰性，惯性，懒惰，迟钝

参考例句：

• We had a feeling of inertia in the afternoon.下午我们感觉很懒。
• Inertia carried the plane onto the ground.飞机靠惯性着陆。

8 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

9 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

10 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》