美国前副总统阿尔·戈尔是7月中旬彭博绿色举办的直播活动“正当其时”的演讲者之一。

The former vice president was one of the speakers at Bloomberg Green’s live event, ‘The Time Is Now.’

 

戈尔告诉这次虚拟现场活动的观众，全球如此多的经济刺激计划都聚焦于碳减排，这让他备受鼓舞，这表明世界已经跨过了一个门槛，他说：“跨越这一门槛后，越来越明显的是，可持续发展的技术将会变得更加高效经济。”

Former Vice President Al Gore told the audience at Bloomberg Green’s virtual live event, “The Time Is Now,” that he’s encouraged by the fact that so many economic stimulus plans across the globe are focused on carbon reduction. It shows, he said, that the world has crossed a threshold “beyond which it is ever clearer that sustainable technologies are cheaper and better.”

 

戈尔在大会闭幕式上发表讲话。一同发表讲话的还有微软首席可持续发展官卢卡斯·乔帕，罗斯福气候政策研究所所长瑞安娜·甘恩-赖特和著名的气候经济学家尼古拉斯·斯特恩。所有嘉宾都谈到了新冠带来的挑战，但同时也指出新冠也代表一个机遇，它是全球应对气候变化的一个潜在转折点。

Gore spoke in the closing session of the conference, which also featured Microsoft Chief Sustainability Officer Lucas Joppa, Roosevelt Institute Director of Climate Policy Rhiana Gunn-Wright, and famed climate economist Nicholas Stern. All the guests addressed the challenges created by Covid-19, but also the opportunity it represents as a potential turning point for the global effort to fight climate change.

 

在场的其他嘉宾包括普林斯维尔资本气候策略主管美兰妮·中川和EIG合作伙伴的高级副总裁马塞莉娅·弗里曼。

Other guests included Melanie Nakagawa, director of climate strategy at Princeville Capital, and Marcelia Freeman, senior vice president at EIG Partners.

伦敦经济学院格兰瑟姆气候变化研究所所长斯特恩说，新型冠状病毒大流行为全球气候政策创造了新的政治动力。他说：“民意调查显示人们希望更好地重建生活。人们认识到旧有体系很危险，也认识到我们能够快速改变。政治领导人不仅有这样做的空间，而且有这样做的压力。”

The coronavirus pandemic has created new political momentum for climate policies across the globe, said Stern, who chairs London School of Economics’ Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change. “If you look at the opinion polls,” he said, “they show that people want to build back better. They recognize the old system was dangerous and they recognize that we can change quickly. The political leaders not only have the space to do it, they have the pressure to do it.”

在欧洲，这肯定是正确的。欧洲领导人在7月21日通过了针对整个欧盟的经济刺激计划，其中5720亿美元用于绿色优先发展事项。但是，在美国，日益加剧的政治两极分化需要有差别的战略方针。美国绿色新政的设计者之一冈恩·赖特呼吁着重强调应对气候变化的环境影响的气候正义。

That’s certainly true in Europe, where leaders on Tuesday passed a bloc-wide stimulus package that included $572 billion for green priorities. In the U.S., however, increased political polarization requires a different strategic approach. Gunn-Wright, one of the architects of the Green New Deal, called for a greater emphasis on climate justice in dealing with the environmental effects of climate change.

 

赖特说：“要想在缺乏一方支持的情况下推动某事，就需要各种族合作。” “这很难办到，除非能够创造更加公正和公平的社会来谈论气候。”

“To move something with no support on one side, you need multiracial coalitions,” Gunn-Wright said. “And that is difficult to do unless you are speaking about climate in a way that creates a more just and equitable society.”

赖特和戈尔都对民主党总统候选人拜登上周发布的气候计划表示赞赏。该提案呼吁在四年内投资2万亿美元，使美国在2035年之前实现100％无碳发电。它还承诺将40％的投资投入到受气候变化冲击更大的社区，这些社区往往是有色人种的社区。尽管戈尔称该计划“令人印象深刻”，但赖特也警告说，如果不采取全面的措施，该计划仍可能无法实现其气候正义目标。

Gunn-Wright and Gore both spoke approvingly of the climate plan released last week by the Democratic nominee for president, Joe Biden. The proposal called for $2 trillion of investment over four years to move the nation to 100% carbon-free electric generation by 2035, among other goals. It also committed to putting 40% of that investment into communities that have disproportionately borne the brunt of climate change, which tend to be communities of color. While Gore called the plan “pretty impressive,” Gunn-Wright also warned that without taking a holistic approach, the plan could still fall short of its climate justice goals.

乔帕谈到了企业在应对气候变化中的所扮演的角色。他说，尽管企业无法取代强大的政府监管体系，但它们在实现国家雄心勃勃的碳减排目标中起着至关重要的作用。

Joppa spoke to the role corporations have in working against climate change. While they can’t take the place of a strong governmental regulatory system, he said, they have a crucial role in meeting the nation’s ambitious carbon reduction goals.

乔帕说：“我们需要对必要的事情以及像微软这样的公司可以扮演的角色进行广泛的了解。”在谈到减排量时，他补充说：“我们需要证明这不仅可行，而且对生意有利。”

“We need to take a very broad view on what’ s necessary and the role that a company like Microsoft can play,” Joppa said. Referring to emissions reductions he added, “We need to show that this isn’t just possible but also good for business.”

今年年初，微软宣布到2030年将实现负碳排放。7月20日，微软宣布其将成为一个新的跨国公司联盟的创始成员，其中包括耐克、星巴克、联合利华和达能等一批全球大公司。该联盟将齐心协力，致力于共享减少碳排放的资源与策略，并已承诺会采取行动应对气候变化。

At the start of this year, Microsoft announced it would be carbon negative by 2030. On Monday, the software-maker said it would be a founding member of a new consortium of global corporations including Nike Inc., Starbucks Corp., Unilever NV, and Danone that’s devoted to sharing resources and tactics for slashing carbon emissions. The consortium brings together the efforts of some of the biggest global companies that have pledged to take action against climate change.

 

微软在7月21日宣布，其10亿美元气候基金的第一笔投资将投向风险投资公司能源影响合作伙伴（Energy Impact Partners），该公司投资绿色能源与交通系统领域的新技术。

On Tuesday, Microsoft announced that the first investment of its $1 billion climate fund will be in venture capital firm Energy Impact Partners, which invests in new technologies for greener energy and transportation systems.