We must understand the connections between the climate crisis and the afflictions of poverty, hunger, HIV-aids and other pandemics. As these problems are linked, so too must be their solutions. We must begin by making the common rescue of the global environment the central organizing principle of the world community.
Fifteen years ago, I made that case at the “Earth Summit” in Rio de Janeiro. Ten years ago, I presented it in Kyoto. This week, I will urge the delegates in Bali to adopt a bold mandate for a treaty that establishes a universal global cap on emissions and uses the market in emissions trading to efficiently allocate resources to the most effective opportunities for speedy reductions.
Heads of state should meet early next year to review what was accomplished in Bali and take personal responsibility for addressing this crisis. It is not unreasonable to ask, given the gravity of our circumstances, that these heads of state meet every three months until the treaty is completed.
We also need a moratorium on the construction of any new generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store carbon dioxide. And most important of all, we need to put a price on carbon—with a CO2 tax that is then rebated back to the people, progressively, according to the laws of each nation, in ways that shift the burden of taxation from employment to pollution. This is by far the most effective and simplest way to accelerate solutions to this crisis.
The world needs an alliance—especially of those nations that weigh heaviest in the scales where earth is in the balance. I salute Europe and Japan for the steps they’ve taken in recent years to meet the challenge, and the new government in Australia, which has made solving the climate crisis its first priority.
But the outcome will be decisively influenced by two nations that are now failing to do enough: the United States and China. While India is also growing fast in importance, it should be absolutely clear that it is the two largest CO2 emitters—most of all, my own country—that will need to make the boldest moves, or stand accountable before history for their failure to act.
Both countries should stop using the other’s behavior as an excuse for stalemate and instead develop an agenda for mutual survival in a shared global environment.
These are the last few years of decision, but they can be the first years of a bright and hopeful future if we do what we must. No one should believe a solution will be found without effort, without cost, without change. Let us acknowledge that if we wish to redeem squandered time and speak again with moral authority, then these are the hard truths:
The way ahead is difficult. The outer boundary of what we currently believe is feasible is still far short of what we actually must do. We are standing at the most fateful fork in that path. So I want to end as I began, with a vision of two futures—each a palpable possibility—and with a prayer that we will see with vivid clarity the necessity of choosing between those two futures, and the urgency of making the right choice now.
The young people will knock the door of the future. So let us renew it, and say together: “We have a purpose. We are many. For this purpose we will rise, and we will act.”
Thank you!
参考译文
尊敬的陛下，皇室成员，挪威诺贝尔委员会的诸位委员们以及各位女士和先生们：
今天我带着一个目标站在这里，这是一个我已经为之奋斗多年的目标，我一直在祈祷上帝，希望他能为我指点迷津，让我很好地实现它。
有时候，未来会像一位不速之客敲响我们的大门，为我们带来宝贵而又令人痛苦的远景。119年前，一个富裕的发明家在他去世之前读到了自己的讣告，这是一个误出版的讣告。当时，一家报社误认为这位发明家刚刚去世，便对他一生的工作做了评判，并因为他发明了火药而不公平地把他称为“死亡商人”。这位发明家被报纸上的谴责震撼了，于是他作出了人生的抉择——要为和平事业服务到底。
7年后，阿尔弗雷德·诺贝尔设立了这个奖项，以及其他以他的名字命名的奖项。
在7年前的明天，我在一份判决中读到了自己的政治讣告，在我看来，那是一份恶劣且错误的陈述。那份不受欢迎的判决虽然令人痛苦，但同时也为我带来了宝贵的财富，那就是让我获得了一个机会——寻找新的方式来追求我的目标的机会。
没想到，这一追求使我今天站在了这里。虽然我担心我所说的话是否适合今天这个场合，但是我祈求此时我心中的感受能明确地传达出来，而那些听到了我声音的人们会说：“我们必须采取行动。”
我们人类正面临着紧急情况——我们的人类文明受到了威胁，即便我们聚集于此，也无法化解这一威胁对我们的文明所带来的毁灭性的潜在打击。但是，我们并不是看不到希望：我们有能力解决这一危机，避免最坏的情况出现，尽管无法完全地解决这一问题，但只要我们大胆、果断而迅速地采取行动，就有希望。
今天，我们又把7，000万吨的温室气体排放到地球周围那薄薄的大气层中，就好像整个地球就是一个开放的下水道。明天，我们又将排放更多的污染物，它们累积的浓度越来越大，凝聚的热量也越来越多。其结果就是，地球开始发烧，而且温度一路飙升。专家告诉我们，这种破坏不会自己愈合。面对这一结果，征求各方意见得到的一致结论是，我们从根本上出了问题。
在过去的几个月里，很多迹象表明，我们的世界正在失控。由于大规模的干旱和冰川融化，北美洲和南美洲的主要城市以及亚洲和澳大利亚几乎断水。绝望的农民正在失去生计。北极和地势低洼的太平洋岛屿上的人们正计划撤离曾经的家园。史无前例的野外大火已迫使50万人逃离家园，造成了全国性的紧急情况，当地政府几乎崩溃。受气候影响的难民迁移到另一个与之有不同文化、宗教和传统的地区，这就增加了潜在冲突的可能性。在太平洋和大西洋发生的更强的风暴威胁着整个城市的生存。在南亚、墨西哥和18个非洲国家的特大洪水中，数百万人流离失所。随着温度的极端上升，不计其数的人失去生命。我们鲁莽地燃烧和砍伐森林，使得越来越多的物种灭绝。我们赖以生存的生态系统正在被破坏并消逝。
我们从来没有蓄意制造这些破坏，正如诺贝尔从未打算把炸药用于发动战争一样。他原本希望他的发明能促进人类的进步。当我们开始燃烧大量的煤、石油和甲烷时，我们的目标也是相同的，都想使人类社会向前发展。