World Leaders to Sign Climate Agreement on Earth Day

Leaders from 130 nations are gathering at the United Nations to sign the historic climate deal reached in Paris last December.
来自130个国家的领导人聚集在联合国来签署去年12月在巴黎达成的历史性的气候协议。

The signing happens on the 46th anniversary of Earth Day. Since 1970, every year people around the world observe the day by doing different activities to clean up the environment.
该协议的签署安排在地球日46周年纪念日。自1970年以来,每年世界各地人们都通过进行不同活动净化环境来庆祝这一天。

On April 22, 1970, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson organized the first Earth Day with a "national teach-in on the environment."
1970年4月22日,美国参议员盖洛德·尼尔森(Gaylord Nelson)通过一场《环境全国宣讲会》举办了第一个地球日。

Earth Day Network says 20 million Americans gathered in the streets, parks and meeting halls "to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment" in large rallies across the country.
地球日网络表示,有两千万美国人参与了在全国各地街道、公园和会议厅进行的大型集会,为健康、可持续发展的环境举行示威。

This year, more than a billion people will celebrate the day by working for a clean environment.
今年,超过10亿人将通过努力追求一个清洁环境来庆祝这天。

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has urged countries to take action to fix climate change.
联合国秘书长潘基文督促各国采取行动解决气候变化问题。

"That is the only way which we can save this one, only, planet Earth."
他说,“这是我们拯救这个独一无二的地球的唯一途径。”

Island nations are very vulnerable the stronger storms and rising sea levels brought on by climate change. One example is the Pacific island of Fiji. Super Cyclone Winston crashed into the island nation last February, killing 44 people and causing $1 billion in damage.
岛国非常容易受到气候变化造成的强风暴和海平面上升的伤害。太平洋岛国斐济就是一个例子。去年2月,超级气旋温斯顿袭击了这个岛国,导致44人遇难,并造成十亿美元的损失。

Fiji's Prime Minister Josaia Bainimarama talked about their fear about the future:
斐济总理姆拜尼马拉马谈到了他们对未来的恐惧:

"The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as Winston's is increasing. And we all have to be fearful about what this means—not only for ourselves, but for future generations."
“温斯顿气旋这类极端天气事件的发生频率和强度都在增强。我们都必须对这意味着什么保持敬畏,不只是为了我们自己,还为了子孙后代。”

It was last December, in Paris, France that world leaders worked out the details for the historic agreement. It limits the rise in global temperatures to well below two degrees Celsius.
去年12月在法国的巴黎,世界各国领导人拟定了这一历史性协议的细节部分。该协议把全球气温升高的幅度限制到两摄氏度以内。

It provides a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – those include pollution from factories and the burning of fossil fuels like coal. The agreement calls for a way to stop the effects of warming the planet. That includes moving towards using renewable energies, like wind and solar— or power from the sun.
它提供了一种减少温室气体排放的办法。温室气体包括来自工厂以及燃烧煤炭等化石燃料的污染。该协议呼吁采取遏制全球变暖影响的办法,这包括转向使用可再生能源,如风能和太阳能。

Putting the plan into action will take several steps.
将计划付诸于行动还需要采取数个步骤。

First, the 130 leaders gathering in New York Friday will sign the agreement. Then their governments must ratify – or formally approve it-- to put it into action.
首先,齐聚纽约的130国领导人将在周五签署该协议。然后他们的政府必须正式批准这一协议并付诸于行动。

Selwin Hart is director of the U.N. Climate Change Support Team.
塞尔温·哈特(Selwin Hart)是联合国气候变化支持小组的主任。

He says the Paris Agreement must cross two important lines to become enforceable.
他说,巴黎协议必须跨越两条重要界限才能执行。

First, at least 55 parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change must ratify the agreement. And those 55 countries must represent 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
首先,联合国气候变化框架公约的55个缔约国必须批准该协议。同时这55个国家必须占到全球温室气体排放量的55%。

China and the U.S. are the biggest contributors to the world's global greenhouse gases. Together, the countries are responsible for about 40 percent of the world's emissions.
中国和美国是全球温室气体的最大排放国,两国一共占到了全球排放量的40%左右。

Both the U.S. and China support the agreement. They are pushing for its early adoption by all the nations.
美国和中国都支持该协议。他们正在推动所有国家都尽早落实该协议。

The target date to start the agreement is 2020. That could change. If all the countries ratify it quickly, it could happen this year, or in early 2017.
启动该协议的预定日期是2020年,这可能会有所变化。如果所有国家都迅速批准该协议,今年或明年年初就有望启动。