Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping have breathed unexpected life into the Paris climate change talks. By unveiling clear pledges in Beijing to cap China’s emissions by 2030 and further cut America’s by 2025, they have injected hope into a process where little existed before. Sceptics will rightly want to see what action follows the lofty words – global warming pledges too often illustrate the triumph of hope over experience. But at this point they should be grateful for any boost. Before this week, few would have given the Paris negotiations a serious chance of making strides. Now that the world’s largest emitters are setting the pace, Paris feels like a dance worth watching.
美國總統巴拉克•歐巴馬(Barack Obama)和中國國家主席習近平出人意料地爲巴黎氣候變化磋商帶來轉機。兩人在北京明確承諾，最遲在2030年封頂中國碳排放，最遲在2025年進一步削減美國的碳排放。此舉爲原本沒什麼希望的氣候變化談判進程注入新的希望。對持懷疑態度的人們來說，抱有聽其言觀其行的想法是合理的——有關全球變暖的承諾往往展示「希望戰勝經驗」的現象。不過，眼下他們應該感激任何推動。在這周以前，幾乎沒人會認真考慮巴黎談判取得大幅進展的可能性。如今，全球最大的碳排放國家正在設定時間表，這讓巴黎談判成了一場值得關注的好戲。