‘Absolutely ridiculous’: top scientist slams UK government over coalmine
-Prof Sir Robert Watson says backing of Cumbrian mine refutes claims of climate leadership

“绝对荒谬”:顶尖科学家在煤矿问题上抨击英国政府
——罗伯特·沃森教授表示,对坎布里亚煤矿的支持打脸了英国要在气候变化方面发挥领导作用的宣称


(Prof Sir Robert Watson has led the UN’s scientific organisations for climate and biodiversity.)

(罗伯特·沃森教授是联合国气候和生物多样性科学组织的负责人。)
新闻:

One of the UK’s most eminent environmental scientists has called the government’s failure to block a new coalmine in Cumbria “absolutely ridiculous”.

英国最著名的环境科学家之一称政府未能阻止坎布里亚郡一座新煤矿的行为“绝对荒谬”。

Prof Sir Robert Watson said the UK’s commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 to tackle the climate crisis was “wonderful”, but that there had to be a focus on immediate actions. The UK is hosting a UN climate summit, Cop26, in November and Boris Johnson has pledged to lead a green industrial revolution.

罗伯特·沃森教授表示,英国承诺在2050年前实现零排放,以应对气候危机,这是“非常棒的”,但必须把重点放在立即采取行动上。英国将于11月主办联合国气候峰会——缔约方大会第二十六届会议,鲍里斯·约翰逊此前已经承诺要领导一场绿色工业革命。

“The British government says, ‘We’re going to lead Cop26 in Glasgow, we really care about climate change. But, by the way, we won’t override the council in Cumbria, and we’ll have a new coalmine.’ Absolutely ridiculous!” Watson said. “You get these wonderful statements by governments and then they have an action that goes completely against it.”

“英国政府说,‘我们将在格拉斯哥领导缔约方大会第二十六届会议,我们真的关心气候变化。但顺便说一句,我们不会推翻坎布里亚郡的议会决议,并且我们将新开一家煤矿。’这绝对荒谬!”沃森说。“你看到政府发表了这些美妙的声明,然后他们却采取了完全相反的行动。”

Watson has led the UN’s scientific organisations for climate and biodiversity, is a former chief scientific adviser at the UK’s environment department and worked for Bill Clinton when he was US president. He has also held senior positions at Nasa and the World Bank.

沃森领导了联合国的气候和生物多样性科学组织,是英国环境部的前首席科学顾问,并在比尔·克林顿担任美国总统时为他工作。他还在美国国家航空航天局和世界银行担任过高级职务。

The underground mine would be the UK’s first in 30 years. Critics, including the government’s official climate advisers, say it seriously undermines Johnson’s ability to lead a successful UN summit, which is seen as vital in averting the worst impacts of global heating. Ministers have repeatedly said the decision on the mine is a local one.

这座地下煤矿将是英国30年来新开的第一座。包括政府的官方气候顾问在内的批评人士说,这严重削弱了约翰逊成功领导召开联合国峰会的能力,而这次峰会被视为避免全球变暖最严重影响的关键。但大臣们一再表示,有关该矿山的决定是地方做出的决定。

Supporters of the £165m mine say it would provide 500 jobs in an area which is among the most deprived in the country. On Thursday, 40 Conservative MPs wrote to the leader of Cumbria county council warning that stopping the mine would “represent a serious risk to Cumbria’s economic growth”.

这座价值1.65亿英镑的煤矿的支持者表示,它将为这个英国最贫困的地区提供500个工作岗位。周四,40名保守党议员致信坎布里亚郡议会领袖,警告称,阻止开矿将“对坎布里亚的经济增长构成严重风险”。

The council approved the mine in October and communities and the local government secretary, Robert Jenrick, chose not to “call in” the plan for a central government decision, which is allowed if a project conflicts with national policy. Amid growing controversy, the council said earlier in February that it would reconsider the decision to take into account climate advice published in December by the Committee on Climate Change (CCC).

地方议会于去年10月批准了该项目,社区和当地政府部长罗伯特·詹里克选择不将该计划“提请”中央政府作出决定——如果项目与国家政策冲突,中央政府是允许这么做的。在越来越多的争议中,地方议会在2月早些时候说,它将重新考虑气候变化委员会在12月发布的气候建议的决定。

Watson said decisions to stop carbon emissions were needed immediately: “We need action now. A lot of governments have said, ‘We’ll be zero carbon by 2050’. That’s wonderful [but] it’s 30 years away. The key message on climate is we need to have a 50% reduction of emissions by 2030. We’ve got to focus on short-term actions, not [just] long-term targets and goals.”

沃森说,立即需要做出停止碳排放的决定:“我们现在就需要采取行动。很多政府都说过,‘到2050年我们将实现零碳排放。’这很好(但)还需要30年。关于气候变化的关键信息是,我们需要在2030年之前减少50%的排放。我们必须把重点放在短期行动上,而不仅仅是长期目标。”

Other leading scientists have criticised the mine. Prof James Hansen, who has been called the “godfather of climate change”, told Johnson his “actions and decisions now will either establish or undermine your claim to climate leadership”. Prof Sir David King, a former chief scientific adviser to the UK government, said the mine “is a big mistake”.

其他顶尖科学家也对该矿山提出了批评。被称为“气候变化教父”的詹姆斯·汉森教授告诉约翰逊,他“现在的行动和决定将确立或削弱你对气候变化领导地位的主张”。英国政府前首席科学顾问大卫·金爵士表示,开矿“是一个重大错误”。

The mine would produce 2.7m tonnes a year of coking coal, which is used in steel-making rather than burned in power stations. About 85% of the coal from the mine is planned for export, although there is no shortage of such coal globally.

该矿每年将生产270万吨焦煤,用于炼钢,而不是用于电厂燃烧。该煤矿约85%的煤炭计划用于出口,尽管此类煤炭在全球并不短缺。

The mine has planning permission to 2049 but the CCC has said “there may be no domestic use [for coking coal] after 2035”. Green experts say steelmakers will have to deploy new technology to reduce their emissions under the UK’s net zero targets and that green industries provide more secure jobs.

该煤矿获得了到2049年的规划许可,但气候变化委员会表示,“(炼焦煤)可能在2035年后不会在国内使用”。环保专家表示,在英国的净零排放目标下,钢铁制造商将不得不采用新技术来减少排放量,而且绿色产业提供了更有保障的工作岗位。

Cumbria council has yet to set a date for its planning committee to meet and reconsider the mine application, but it is expected before council elections in May. It is thought locally that the council is unlikely to overturn the original backing for the mine.

坎布里亚郡议会尚未为其规划委员会确定开会和重新考虑采矿申请的日期,但预计将在5月议会选举之前举行。当地认为,议会不太可能推翻对开矿的最初支持。

Earlier in February, the website Responsible Investor revealed that EMR Capital, the firm financing the mine, is a signatory to the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment, which requires “incorporating environmental, social, and governance issues into decision-making processes”.

2月初,“负责任投资者”网站披露,为该矿山提供融资的EMR资本公司是联合国支持的《负责任投资原则》的签署国,该原则要求“将环境、社会和治理问题纳入决策过程”。

The UK has cut emissions faster than any other rich nation in recent decades by phasing out coal burning for electricity, as well as with the closure of much of the country’s heavy industry and importing more manufactured goods from overseas.

近几十年来,通过逐步淘汰燃煤发电、关闭该国大部分重工业并从海外进口更多制成品,英国的减排速度比其他任何富裕国家都要快。

But ministers are being criticised over a series of decisions that run counter to cutting emissions, including backing a gas-fired power station that would be the biggest in Europe, a third runway at Heathrow airport and committing £27bn to new roads, a policy now under legal challenge. It was also reported last week that one of Johnson’s flagship green policies, a £1.5bn green homes grant scheme, is likely to be scrapped having reached just 4% of the homes intended.

但英国大臣们正在因一系列与减排背道而驰的决定而受到批评,这些决定包括支持一座将成为欧洲最大的燃气发电站、在希思罗机场修建第三条跑道,以及承诺投入270亿英镑修建新公路——这一政策目前正面临法律挑战。上周也有报道称,约翰逊的“旗舰绿色政策”之一——一项15亿英镑的绿色家园资助计划——可能会被取消,因为只达到了预期建造房屋的4%。