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For the past three years, the world outside the U.S. has largely tried to ignore Trump’s retrograde position on climate,
過去三年，外界社會大多選擇盡量無視特朗普在氣候問題上倒行逆施的立場，
hoping 2020 would usher in a new President with a new position,
希望2020年美國能迎來一位帶有新立場的新總統，
re-enabling the cooperation between nations needed to prevent the worst ravages of climate change.
重啟各國的合作，防止氣候變化造成最嚴重的破壞。
But there’s no more time to wait.
問題是，時不我待。
We’re standing at a climate crossroads: the world has already warmed 1.1°C since the Industrial Revolution.
我們已經站在了氣候問題的十字路口：自工業革命以來，地球已經變暖了1.1°C。
If we pass 2°C, we risk hitting one or more major tipping points,
如果變暖幅度超過2°C，我們就有可能觸及一個或多個主要臨界點，
where the effects of climate change go from advancing gradually to changing dramatically overnight, reshaping the planet.
氣候變化的影響就會從循序漸進變為一夜滄海，整個地球都將因此易容。
To ensure that we don’t pass that threshold, we need to cut emissions in half by 2030.
為了確保我們不會跨過這一門檻，我們需要在2030年之前將排放量減少到現在的一半。
Climate change has understandably fallen out of the public eye this year as the coronavirus pandemic rages.
今年，隨著新冠疫情肆虐全球，氣候變化問題便逐漸淡出了公眾的視線，這也可以理解。
Nevertheless, this year, or perhaps this year and next, is likely to be the most pivotal yet in the fight against climate change.
問題是，今年，也可能是今明兩年，很可能是我們應對氣候變化最為關鍵的念頭。
"We’ve run out of time to build new things in old ways," says Rob Jackson,
“我們已經沒時間用老辦法解決問題了，”
an earth system science professor at Stanford University and the chair of the Global Carbon Project.
斯坦福大學地球系統科學教授，全球碳計劃組織的主席羅布·杰克遜說。
What we do now will define the fate of the planet—and human life on it—for decades.
今天的決策將直接決定未來數十年整個地球——以及全人類——的命運。
The time frame for effective climate action was always going to be tight,
采取有效的氣候行動的時間本就一直很緊迫，
but the coronavirus pandemic has shrunk it further.
新冠肺炎更是繃緊了這一張弦。
Scientists and policymakers expected the green transition to occur over the next decade,
科學家和政策制定者原本期望綠色轉型能夠在未來十年內完成，
but the pandemic has pushed 10 years of anticipated investment in everything from power plants to roads into a months-long time frame.
一場疫情直接將原本計劃用10年完成的投資，從發電廠建設到道路建設，縮短到了幾個月。
Countries have already spent $11 trillion to help stem the economic damage from COVID-19.
世界各國在阻止新冠疫情造成經濟損失方面的耗資已經高達11萬億美元。
They could spend trillions more.
未來階段可能還要耗費數萬億美元。
"It’s in this next six months that recovery strategies are likely to be formulated and the path is set," says Nicholas Stern,
“復蘇政策可能會在未來六個月內制定出來，到時候，路就定了，”尼古拉斯·斯特恩說道。
a former World Bank chief economist known for his landmark 2006 report
此人為前世界銀行首席經濟學家，憑2006年具有里程碑意義的報告聞名于世，
warning that climate change could devastate the global economy.
該報告警告稱，氣候變化可能會摧毀全球經濟。
We don’t know where the chips will fall:
我們不知道籌碼會落在哪里：
Will a newfound respect for science and a fear of future shocks lead us to finally wake up,
新萌生的對科學的尊重和對未來沖擊的恐懼會喚起我們最終的覺醒嗎？
or will the desire to return to normal overshadow the threats lurking just around the corner?
又或是，回歸常態的愿望會戰勝潛伏在角落里的威脅？
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