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Coal endangers a planet unable to stop using it
对煤炭欲罢不能 地球已经岌岌可危
By Somini Sengupta
文/索米尼· 森古普塔
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想订阅我们的气候新闻？
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在这里注册“气候速递”:,我们的电子邮件通讯。
HANOI, Vietnam — Coal, the fuel that powered the industrial age, has led the planet to the brink of catastrophic climate change.
越南，河内电——煤炭，这一曾经驱动了工业时代的燃料，已经将地球推到了爆发灾难性气候变化的边缘。
Scientists have repeatedly warned of its looming dangers, most recently on Friday,
科学家们一再警醒人们正在逼近的气候危险，最近一次是在星期五，
when a major scientific report issued by 13 United States government agencies warned
当天，美国13个政府机构发布的一项重大科学报告警告说，
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气候变暖的话，
if significant steps aren’t taken to rein in warming.
到本世纪末，气候变化造成的破坏就可能足以让美国的经济规模缩小10％。
An October report from the United Nations’ scientific panel on global warming
联合国全球变暖科学小组10月份的一份报告
found that avoiding the worst devastation would require a radical transformation of the world economy in just a few years.
发现，要避免最严重的破坏发生，我们就得在短短几年的时间之内让世界经济彻底转型。
Central to that transformation: Getting out of coal, and fast.
而这一转型的关键就在于：摆脱煤炭，而且动作要快。
And yet, three years after the Paris agreement, when world leaders promised action, coal shows no sign of disappearing.
然而，《巴黎协定》签署三年后，世界各国领导人都已承诺采取行动，煤炭却丝毫没有消失的迹象。
While coal use looks certain to eventually wane worldwide, according to the latest assessment by the International Energy Agency,
尽管全球煤炭使用量最终肯定会减少，根据国际能源署的最新评估，
it is not on track to happen anywhere fast enough to avert the worst effects of climate change.
但这一变化并不会及时并且足够迅速到能让我们免于气候变化引起的最为糟糕的后果。
Last year, in fact, global production and consumption increased after two years of decline.
事实上，去年，刚下降了两年的全球煤炭生产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.
作为一种廉价，储量丰富但污染也最为严重的化石燃料，煤炭目前仍然是全球发电使用的唯一一种主要能源。
This, even as renewables like solar and wind power are rapidly becoming more affordable.
与此同时，太阳能和风能等可再生能源正在迅速地变得越来越便宜。
Soon, coal could make no financial sense for its backers.
很快，对那些支持使用煤炭的人来说，煤炭将完全失去其经济价值。
So, why is coal so hard to quit?
那么，煤炭为何还是如此难以戒除呢？
Because coal is a powerful incumbent.
因为煤炭是一个非常强大的现任。
It’s there by the millions of tons under the ground.
地下有着数百万吨的煤炭储量。
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.
强大的公司，在强大的政府的支持下，这种支持往往是补贴的形式存在，都急于在为时已晚之前扩大自己的市场。
Banks still profit from it.
银行仍在从煤炭中获利。
Big national electricity grids were designed for it.
大型国家电网也应运而生。
Coal plants can be a surefire way for politicians to deliver cheap electricity and retain their own power.
对政治家们来说，依靠煤炭厂提供廉价的电力，进而稳固自己的权势这招可谓万无一失。
In some countries, it has been a glistening source of graft.
在某些国家，煤炭一直是耀眼的贪污之本。
And even while renewables are spreading fast, they still have limits:
尽管可再生能源正在快速地普及，这类能源还是有其局限性：
Wind and solar power flow when the breeze blows and the sun shines, and that requires traditional electricity grids to be retooled.
只有有风吹过或者有阳光照耀时才能转化风能和太阳能，这就需要更换掉传统的电网。
译文由可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载。
