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German government sued over toxic air pollution
德國政府因空氣污染被居民起訴
A group of German residents are suing their government over "dangerously" high air pollution levels.
一群德國居民以空氣污染水平達到“危險的”高度為由起訴本國政府。
They claim their right to breathe clean and healthy air is being violated, and that the government is failing to protect their health.
他們聲稱自己呼吸清潔健康空氣的權利被侵犯了，而政府未能保護他們的身體健康。
Like many countries, Germany's air pollution levels often far exceed World Health Organization limits.
和許多國家一樣，德國的空氣污染水平經常遠超世界衛生組織建議的上限。
Globally, air pollution is associated with seven million premature deaths a year.
在全球范圍內，空氣污染每年導致700萬人過早死亡。
It is the first time individuals in Germany have taken such action citing human rights legislation.
這是個體首次在德國以人權立法為名采取這種行動。
The case comes after one of the EU's top lawyers, the advocate general to the European Court of Justice, said in May that citizens could take such action to try to win compensation.
此前，歐盟的頂級律師之一、歐洲法院總顧問在5月表示，公民應采取這種行為來獲得補償。
The group of seven claimants, which includes parents acting on behalf of children, say their health is at risk and politicians are failing to protect them. A number of them have asthma.
七名起訴人組成的團隊表示，他們的健康受到威脅，而政界人士未能保護他們。起訴人當中有代表孩子發起訴訟的父母，其中幾位起訴人患有哮喘。
They live in Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf - four of German's seven biggest cities- and claim they are breathing air with concentrations of pollution four to five times higher than the WHO's acceptable limits.
這些人住在柏林、慕尼黑、法蘭克福和杜塞爾多夫——德國七大城市中的四個。他們聲稱自己呼吸的空氣的污染濃度比世衛組織規定的安全空氣上限高出四到五倍。
Volker Becker-Battaglia lives in Munich, on one of Germany's most polluted streets. "Air pollution is a problem you can't see. It's not in people's minds, but it's a killer," he told BBC News.
來自慕尼黑的福爾克爾·貝克-巴塔利亞就居住在德國污染最嚴重的一條街道上。他告訴BBC新聞說：“空氣污染是你看不見的問題。人們意識不到空氣污染的危害，但空氣污染卻可以殺死人。”
"About 150,000 people drive their cars in front of our house every day, it's horrible. We flee the city whenever we can," he explains.
他解釋道：“每天大約有15萬人在我們的房子前開車經過，這太可怕了。無論何時，只要有機會，我們就會逃離這座城市?！?/p>
Constanze, from Düsseldorf, who prefers to use her first name only to protect her privacy, said she is taking part in the case for her two children.
為保護隱私不愿透露姓氏的來自杜塞爾多夫的康斯坦絲表示，她參與這一訴訟是為了她的兩個孩子。
"They deserve to grow up healthy. Living in a city should not condemn them to getting sick because of air pollution, and carrying its impacts with them for the rest of their lives."
她說：“孩子們值得在健康的環境中成長。他們不應該因為住在城市里就不得不呼吸污染的空氣，為此生病并在余生都受其影響。”
Germany's air pollution levels are in line with the country's own law, but the claimants say the law must change to reflect growing scientific consensus.
德國的污染水平符合本國法規，但是起訴人表示應該對法規進行修改以反映出日趨一致的科學共識。
The case is filed in Germany's constitutional court that protects citizens' fundamental human rights. The claimants are not suing for financial compensation, but for the government to take action.
這一訴訟在保護公民基本人權的德國聯邦憲法法院立案。起訴人不要求獲得經濟補償，而是要求政府采取行動。
It comes after a series of cases and rulings in Europe on air pollution.
歐洲此前也發生過一系列和空氣污染有關的案件和判決。
In 2020, nine-year-old Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah became the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death. She lived near a busy road in London and died of an asthma attack.
2020年，9歲的埃拉·阿杜-基西-德布拉成為英國空氣污染致死的第一人。她住在倫敦一條繁忙的街道附近，死于哮喘病發作。
France's government was ordered to pay a ?10m fine in 2021 over failures to improve air quality.
2021年，法國政府因無力改善空氣質量而被判處支付1000萬歐元的罰款。
英文來源：BBC
翻譯&編輯：丹妮
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