VOA常速英语2007年-Climate Scientists Urge Fast Action on Global W

By Chad Bouchard
Bali
06 December 2007

More than 200 of the world's leading climate scientists signed a petition calling for negotiators in Bali's United Nations Climate Change Conference to set aggressive targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions¹. Chad Bouchard reports from Bali.

The declaration released Thursday at the U.N. Climate Change Conference urges governments to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050.

Most scientists say greenhouse gases such as methane² and carbon dioxide, which end up in the earth's atmosphere, are contributing to a rise in global temperatures.

About 215 climate experts signed the document, which was drafted over the last four months. Other groups of scientists such as the Nobel-prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, have released key statements on the science of climate change.

Professor Matthew England from the University of New South Wales says this petition is different because it outlines specific recommendations governments should follow.

"It's delivering a clear message," he said. "It's only four or five paragraphs long, it's got the weight of the scientific community behind it, and hopefully it's going to help the negotiators here in the next few weeks in Bali remember what the climate scientists are saying."

Richard Somerville of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography is careful to point out that the scientists' recommendations are based on predictions using the best available data.

"There isn't a magic number," he noted³, "just as there's no magic cholesterol⁴ number that your physician can give you below which you're safe and above which you're going to have a heart attack. It's simply a risk factor. And it's our judgment⁵, and that of the signatories that the targets we've outlined are the ones needed to keep that risk within reasonable bounds."

U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer says it is not clear how much weight the scientists' recommendations will have during the negotiations⁶, but stresses that discussion at the conference is centered on science-based reports such as the one released earlier by the IPCC.

"I think probably this process that's most strongly science driven," he said. "I mean you see the decision to begin negotiating the Kyoto Protocol⁷ was based on a report of the IPCC and that's why I hope that we can use the current report of the IPCC as the engine behind the next phase of negotiations."

The petition says if governments are able to ensure greenhouse gas emissions peak and decline within the next 15 years, the world will have a 50 percent chance of keeping temperatures from rising two degrees Celsius⁸ above pre-industrial levels.

About 190 countries taking part in the climate change conference this week in Bali.

1 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

2 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 cholesterol   

n.（U）胆固醇

参考例句：

• There is cholesterol in the cell of body.人体细胞里有胆固醇。
• They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels.他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。

5 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

8 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。