巴黎气候大会达成历史性减排协议

LE BOURGET, France — With the sudden bang of a gavel Saturday night, representatives of 195 nations reached a landmark accord that will, for the first time, commit nearly every country to lowering planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions to help stave off the most drastic effects of climate change.

法国勒布尔热——周六晚上，随着小木槌砰的一声响，来自195个国家的代表们达成了一项里程碑式的协议。这项协议将第一次实现几乎每个国家都承诺降低让全球变暖的温室气体的排放，以避免出现气候变化带来的最严重的后果。

The deal, which was met with an eruption of cheers and ovations from thousands of delegates gathered from around the world, represents a historic breakthrough on an issue that has foiled decades of international efforts to address climate change.

协议的签署引发数千名来自世界各地的代表热烈欢呼和鼓掌。它代表着国际社会举数十年之力未能应对的气候变化问题取得了历史性的突破。

Traditionally, such pacts have required developed economies, such as the United States, to take action to lower greenhouse gas emissions, but they have exempted developing countries, such as China and India, from such action.

过去签署的此类协议一般要求美国等发达经济体采取行动来削减温室气体排放，但没有对中国、印度等发展中国家提出要求。

The accord, which U.N. diplomats have been working toward for nine years, changes that dynamic by requiring action in some form from every country, rich or poor.

联合国外交官员过去九年一直在竭力促成的这项协议改变了这一状况，转而要求每个国家，不论贫富，都要采取一些行动。

“This is truly a historic moment,” the U.N. secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, said in an interview. “For the first time, we have a truly universal agreement on climate change, one of the most crucial problems on earth.”

“这真是一个历史性的时刻，”联合国秘书长潘基文(Ban Ki-moon)在接受采访时说。“在地球上最重要的问题之一，即气候变化问题上，我们第一次达成了一项真正具有普适意义的协议。”

President Barack Obama, who regards tackling climate change as a central element of his legacy, spoke of the deal in a televised address from the White House. “This agreement sends a powerful signal that the world is fully committed to a low-carbon future,” he said. “We've shown that the world has both the will and the ability to take on this challenge.”

美国总统贝拉克·奥巴马将应对气候变化问题作为自己政治遗产的一个核心部分，协议达成后他在白宫发表了电视讲话。“这份协议释放出一个强有力的信号，显示出全世界决心共同创造一个低碳的未来，”他说。“我们已经证明，这个世界不仅有意愿，也有能力承担起这项挑战。”

The new deal will not, on its own, solve global warming. At best, scientists who have analyzed it say, it will cut global greenhouse gas emissions by about half enough as is necessary to stave off an increase in atmospheric temperatures of 2 degrees Celsius or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. That is the point at which, scientific studies have concluded, the world will be locked into a future of devastating consequences, including rising sea levels, severe droughts and flooding, widespread food and water shortages and more destructive storms.

新协议本身不会解决全球变暖问题。就此进行分析的科学家们表示，在最理想的情况下，它会使全球温室气体排放有所降低，但规模为避免气温上升2摄氏度所需的削减量的大约一半。多项科学研究已经得出结论，全球气温上升2摄氏度的话，世界就将陷入一个有各种灾难性后果的未来，其中包括海平面上升、严重干旱和洪灾、普遍的粮食和水资源短缺，以及更多破坏性的风暴。

But the Paris deal could represent the moment at which, because of a shift in global economic policy, the inexorable rise in planet-warming carbon emissions that started during the Industrial Revolution began to level out and eventually decline.

但巴黎协议或许代表着一个特殊时刻：随着全球经济政策发生转向，自工业革命以来温室气体排放似乎不可阻挡的增长趋势开始得到遏制，趋向稳定，并最终下降。