大卫·爱登堡爵士 | 2021年COP26大会演讲

Your excellencies, delegates, ladies and gentlemen, as you spend the next two weeks debating, negotiating, persuading and compromising as you surely must. It's easy to forget that ultimately the emergency climate comes down to a single number, the concentration of carbon in our atmosphere.

尊敬的阁下，各位代表，女士们先生们，当你们在未来两周内进行辩论、谈判、劝说和妥协时，你们必定会这样做，谈判让我们很容易忘记，迫切的气候问题最终会归结为一个数字，即我们大气中的碳浓度。

The measure that greatly determines global temperature, and the changes in that one number is the clearest way to chart our own story, for it defines our relationship with our world. For much of humanity's ancient history that number bounced wildly between 180 and 300, and so too did global temperatures.

这是决定全球气温的重要指标，而这一数字的变化把我们自己的故事描绘的一清二楚，因为它定义了我们与世界的关系。在人类古代历史的大部分时间里，这个数字在180和300之间疯狂跳动，全球气温也是如此。

It was a brutal and unpredictable world, at times our ancestors existed only in tiny numbers. But just over 10000 years ago, that number suddenly stabilized and with it earth's climate.

那是一个残酷和不可预知的世界，我们的祖先有时也只有少数幸存下来。但就在一万多年前，这个数字突然稳定，随之稳定下来的还有地球的气候。

We found ourselves in an unusually benign period, with predictable seasons and reliable weather. For the first time, civilization was possible and we wasted no time in taking advantage of that. Everything we've achieved in the last 10000 years was enabled by the stability during this time.

我们发现自己身处一个异常温和的时期，这个时期的季节可预测，天气很可靠。文明第一次成为了可能，我们毫不犹豫地利用了它。在过去一万年中，我们取得的一切成就都得益于这段时期的稳定性。

The global temperature has not wavered over this period by more than plus or minus one degree Celsius. Until now, our burning of fossil fuels; our destruction of nature; our approach to industry construction and learning are releasing carbon into the atmosphere at an unprecedented pace and scale.

在此期间，全球温度的波动没有超过正负一摄氏度。直到现在，我们燃烧的化石燃料，对自然的破坏；对工业的建设和学习方式，都在以前所未有的速度和规模向大气中释放碳。

We are already in trouble. The stability we all depend on is breaking. This story is one of inequality as well as instability. Today those who've done the least to cause this problem are being the hardest hit. Ultimately all of us will feel the impact, some of which are now unavoidable.

我们早已陷入困境。我们所依赖的稳定正在被打破。这是一个不平等、不稳定的故事。今天，造成这一问题的次要者却遭受着最严重的打击。而最终，我们所有人都将感受到这种影响，其中一些影响现在是无法避免的。

Is this how our story is due to end, a tale of the smartest species doomed by that all-too-human characteristic of failing to see the bigger picture in pursuit of short-term goals?

这就是我们故事的结局吗？一个最聪明的物种在追求短期目标而忽视了大局，而被人性所终结的故事吗？

Perhaps the fact that the people most affected by climate change are no longer some imagined future generations, but young people alive today. Perhaps that will give us the impetus we need to rewrite our story, to turn this tragedy into a triumph.

也许受气候变化影响最大的将不再是想象中的后代们，而是今天活着的年轻人。也许这会给我们提供重写故事所需的动力，将这场悲剧变成一场胜利。

We are after all the greatest problem solvers to have ever existed on earth. We now understand this problem, we know how to stop the number rising and put it in reverse. We must recapture billions of tons of carbon from the air. We must fix our sites on keeping one and a half degrees within reach.

毕竟，我们曾是地球上最伟大的问题解决者。我们现在明白了这个问题，就知道如何阻止这个数字的上升，并将其逆转。我们必须从空气中夺回数十亿吨的碳，我们必须把这个基点控制在1.5摄氏度的范围内。

A new industrial revolution powered by millions of sustainable innovations is essential, and it’s indeed already beginning. We will all share in the benefits, affordable clean energy, healthy air and enough food to sustain us all.

由数以百万计的可持续创新驱动的新工业革命至关重要，而且它确实已经开始了。我们都将享受其福利，用得起清洁能源、呼吸健康的空气，有足够的食物来养活我们所有人。

Nature is a key ally. Whenever we restore the wild, it will recapture carbon and help us bring back balance to our planet. And as we work to build a better world, we must acknowledge no nation has completed its development, because no advanced nation is yet sustainable. All have a journey still to compete, so that all nations have a good standard of living and a modest footprint.

大自然是一个关键的盟友。当我们恢复野生环境时，它就会重新吸收碳，并帮助我们的星球恢复平衡。当我们努力建设一个更美好的世界时，必须承认没有任何一个国家已经完成了它的发展，因为没有哪个发达国家实现了可持续发展。为了让所有国家都有一个良好的生活水平和适度的仿效，我们还有一段逆旅需要对抗。

We're going to have to learn together how to achieve this, ensuring none are left behind. We must use this opportunity to create a more equal world, and our motivation should not be fear but hope.

我们必须一起学会如何实现这一目标，确保没有人掉队。我们必须利用这个机会创造一个更加平等的世界，我们的动力不该是恐惧，而是希望。

It comes down to this, the people alive now, or the generation to come will look at this conference and consider one thing: did that number stop rising and start to drop as a result of commitments made here? There's every reason to believe that the answer can be yes.

归根结底，现在活着的人，或者下一代人看着这个会议，会考虑一件事：这个承诺做出后，数字是否会停止上升并开始下降？我们有充分理由相信，答案是肯定的。

If working apart, we are a force powerful enough to destabilize our planet. Surely, working together we are powerful enough to save it.

如果各自行动，我们就是一股强大到足以破坏我们星球稳定的力量。当然，我们携手合作就是一股足够拯救它的力量。

In my lifetime, I've witnessed a terrible decline. In yours, you could and should witness a wonderful recovery. That desperate hope, ladies and gentlemen, delegates, excellency is why the world is looking to you, and why you are here. Thank you!

我的一生中，见证了这个可怕的衰退。但在你们一生中，能够见证并应该见证一个神奇的复苏。那绝望中的希望，女士们先生们，各位代表及阁下们，这就是世界期待你们的原因，也是你们在这里的原因。谢谢！