VOA慢速英語：美國2018年碳排放有所增長

US Carbon Emissions Rise in 2018 Because of Industry, Fuel Demand

美國2018年碳排放有所增長

After falling for three years, carbon emissions in the United States rose in 2018.

經(jīng)過三年的下降，美國的碳排放量在2018年有所上升。

That information is based on early estimates from an independent research group.

這一信息是基于一家獨立研究組織早前的估計。

The Rhodium Group studies U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide, a gas linked to rising temperatures in Earth's atmosphere. Its new report estimates that the country's carbon emissions increased 3.4 percent last year. This would be the largest yearly increase since 2010, when the nation was recovering from a financial crisis known as Great Recession.

榮鼎咨詢公司研究美國排放的二氧化碳，這是一種與地球大氣溫度升高有關(guān)的氣體。該公司的新報告估計，美國去年的碳排放量增加了3.4%，這將是2010年以來最大的年度增幅，當時美國正從一場名為“大衰退”的金融危機中復蘇。

The research also suggests that the American coal industry continues to struggle because of low-cost, plentiful natural gas.

該研究還表明，由于成本低廉、蘊含豐富的天然氣，美國煤炭工業(yè)繼續(xù)面臨掙扎。

Bad news for coal

煤炭業(yè)壞消息

The Rhodium Group reports that coal-fired power stations that produced a total of 11.2 gigawatts of power had closed by last October. Even more were expected to have closed over the following months. If confirmed, that would make 2018 the biggest coal plant closure year on record.

榮鼎咨詢公司報告稱，截至去年10月已經(jīng)關(guān)閉了總產(chǎn)能為11.2千兆瓦的煤電廠。預計未來數(shù)月會有更多煤電廠關(guān)閉。如果得到確認，這將使得2018年成為有史以來關(guān)閉煤電廠最多的年份。

Natural gas is now by far the energy of choice in the United States. The report credited gas for an increase of 166 million kilowatts an hour through October.

天然氣現(xiàn)在是美國的首選能源。該報告將整個10月份增長的1.66億千瓦時電力歸功于天然氣。

American power consumption - and carbon emissions - increased in 2018. The transportation industry was largely responsible for the nation's record emissions.

美國的電力消耗和碳排放在2018年都有所增長。運輸業(yè)是該國創(chuàng)紀錄排放的主要因素。

Demand for gasoline -- the fuel used in most motor vehicles -- decreased. But increases in the demand for other fuel, such as diesel and jet fuel, made transportation the industry most responsible for U.S. carbon emissions.

大部分汽車使用的汽油燃料的需求有所降低，但是對柴油和航空燃油等燃料的需求有所增長。這使得運輸成為美國碳排放最主要的行業(yè)。

The report said another big producer of carbon emissions is the construction industry. Emissions from buildings and homes also were up last year, partly because of very cold winter weather in parts of the country.

該報告稱，另一項碳排放大戶是建筑業(yè)。去年建筑物和住房的碳排放也有所上升，部分原因是該國部分地區(qū)冬季天氣非常寒冷。

The Paris question

巴黎協(xié)定問題

The Reuters news agency reported last week that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency did not answer its questions about the report.

路透社上周報道稱，美國環(huán)境署沒有回應他們對該報告的提問。

Trump administration officials have said that carbon emissions can change from year to year because of economic conditions. They said the country could both cut emissions and enjoy a strong economy at the same time.

川普政府官員表示，由于經(jīng)濟狀況的原因，碳排放量每年都會發(fā)生變化。他們表示，美國可以在減少排放的同時享受強勁的經(jīng)濟。

Environmentalists say the Trump administration needs to speed up development of renewable energy, manufacturing power from wind and the sun's energy.

環(huán)保人士表示，川普政府需要加快可再生能源的發(fā)展，通過風能和太陽能發(fā)電。

The country's carbon emissions had been decreasing year by year since 2015, as the nation worked to honor the Paris Agreement on climate change. But even with those reductions, the United States was unable to meet reductions agreed to by the administration of former President Barack Obama.

美國的碳排放從2015年開始逐年下降，當時該國致力于履行《巴黎氣候協(xié)定》。但是即使有所減少，美國也無法滿足前奧巴馬政府所同意的削減目標。

Officials from almost 200 countries gathered at United Nations' headquarters in 2016 to sign the climate agreement. Under the deal, the United States promised to cut its carbon emissions by at least 26 percent from 2005 levels by the year 2025.

2016年，來自近200個國家的官員在聯(lián)合國總部簽署氣候協(xié)議。根據(jù)協(xié)議，美國承諾到2025年，將碳排放從2005年的水平減少至少26%。

But in June 2017, President Donald Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the deal. The U.S. will officially withdraw in 2020.

但是在2017年6月，川普總統(tǒng)宣布決定退出該協(xié)定。美國將在2020年正式退出。

I'm George Grow.

喬治·格魯報道。