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Coal endangers a planet unable to stop using it
對煤炭欲罷不能 地球已經岌岌可危
By Somini Sengupta
文/索米尼· 森古普塔
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想訂閱我們的氣候新聞？
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在這里注冊“氣候速遞”:,我們的電子郵件通訊。
HANOI, Vietnam — Coal, the fuel that powered the industrial age, has led the planet to the brink of catastrophic climate change.
越南，河內電——煤炭，這一曾經驅動了工業時代的燃料，已經將地球推到了爆發災難性氣候變化的邊緣。
Scientists have repeatedly warned of its looming dangers, most recently on Friday,
科學家們一再警醒人們正在逼近的氣候危險，最近一次是在星期五，
when a major scientific report issued by 13 United States government agencies warned
當天，美國13個政府機構發布的一項重大科學報告警告說，
that the damage from climate change could knock as much as 10 percent off the size of the American economy by century’s end
如果不采取重大措施控制氣候變暖的話，
if significant steps aren’t taken to rein in warming.
到本世紀末，氣候變化造成的破壞就可能足以讓美國的經濟規模縮小10％。
An October report from the United Nations’ scientific panel on global warming
聯合國全球變暖科學小組10月份的一份報告
found that avoiding the worst devastation would require a radical transformation of the world economy in just a few years.
發現，要避免最嚴重的破壞發生，我們就得在短短幾年的時間之內讓世界經濟徹底轉型。
Central to that transformation: Getting out of coal, and fast.
而這一轉型的關鍵就在于：擺脫煤炭，而且動作要快。
And yet, three years after the Paris agreement, when world leaders promised action, coal shows no sign of disappearing.
然而，《巴黎協定》簽署三年后，世界各國領導人都已承諾采取行動，煤炭卻絲毫沒有消失的跡象。
While coal use looks certain to eventually wane worldwide, according to the latest assessment by the International Energy Agency,
盡管全球煤炭使用量最終肯定會減少，根據國際能源署的最新評估，
it is not on track to happen anywhere fast enough to avert the worst effects of climate change.
但這一變化并不會及時并且足夠迅速到能讓我們免于氣候變化引起的最為糟糕的后果。
Last year, in fact, global production and consumption increased after two years of decline.
事實上，去年，剛下降了兩年的全球煤炭生產量和消耗量就又回升了。
Cheap, plentiful and the most polluting of fossil fuels, coal remains the single largest source of energy to generate electricity worldwide.
作為一種廉價，儲量豐富但污染也最為嚴重的化石燃料，煤炭目前仍然是全球發電使用的唯一一種主要能源。
This, even as renewables like solar and wind power are rapidly becoming more affordable.
與此同時，太陽能和風能等可再生能源正在迅速地變得越來越便宜。
Soon, coal could make no financial sense for its backers.
很快，對那些支持使用煤炭的人來說，煤炭將完全失去其經濟價值。
So, why is coal so hard to quit?
那么，煤炭為何還是如此難以戒除呢？
Because coal is a powerful incumbent.
因為煤炭是一個非常強大的現任。
It’s there by the millions of tons under the ground.
地下有著數百萬噸的煤炭儲量。
Powerful companies, backed by powerful governments, often in the form of subsidies, are in a rush to grow their markets before it is too late.
強大的公司，在強大的政府的支持下，這種支持往往是補貼的形式存在，都急于在為時已晚之前擴大自己的市場。
Banks still profit from it.
銀行仍在從煤炭中獲利。
Big national electricity grids were designed for it.
大型國家電網也應運而生。
Coal plants can be a surefire way for politicians to deliver cheap electricity and retain their own power.
對政治家們來說，依靠煤炭廠提供廉價的電力，進而穩固自己的權勢這招可謂萬無一失。
In some countries, it has been a glistening source of graft.
在某些國家，煤炭一直是耀眼的貪污之本。
And even while renewables are spreading fast, they still have limits:
盡管可再生能源正在快速地普及，這類能源還是有其局限性：
Wind and solar power flow when the breeze blows and the sun shines, and that requires traditional electricity grids to be retooled.
只有有風吹過或者有陽光照耀時才能轉化風能和太陽能，這就需要更換掉傳統的電網。
譯文由可可原創，僅供學習交流使用，未經許可請勿轉載。
