富国拟降低针对发展中国家的排放要求

Developed countries are preparing to relent on their demand that developing countries agree to long-term cuts in greenhouse gas emissions in a concession that could form the basis of a global deal on climate change.

发达国家准备放弃此前提出的发展中国家必须接受温室气体长期减排指标的要求，这一让步可能为达成全球气候变化协定打下基础。

The demand was one of five key elements rich countries wanted for a deal at the international climate change summit in Copenhagen in December. But major emerging economies, led by China and India, refused to sign up to it, worrying it could be used to force large and so far unquantified emission cuts on them in the future.

在今年12月的哥本哈根国际气候变化会议上，富国此前希望达成一项包含五个关键要素的协定，而上述要求是其中之一。然而，由中国和印度领头的主要新兴经济体拒绝接受这项条款，担心它可能在未来被用于迫使它们进行大幅且迄今尚未量化的减排。

Governments on both sides of the Atlantic are now softening their call for a global target of halving emissions by 2050, in an attempt to build a consensus around a less ambitious deal in Copenhagen.

为了能在哥本哈根就一项更易实现的协定达成共识，美欧政府正软化立场，不再坚持要求设定到2050年把排放量减少一半的全球目标。

Todd Stern, US President Barack Obama's special envoy for climate change who was in London yesterday for talks with the world's 17 biggest emitters, hinted at the softening stance: “Our view at the G8 in July was that there ought to be both a developed country number and a worldwide number: 80 per cent for developed countries, 50 per cent worldwide. We still think that.” But he added: “I don't know whether that is going to be included or not.”

美国总统巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)的气候变化特使托德•斯特恩(Todd Stern)昨日在伦敦与全球17个最大排放国的代表举行了会谈，他暗示富国立场已经有所软化：“今年7月我们在八国集团(G8)峰会上提出的观点是，应该有针对发达国家和全世界的两个指标，即发达国家减排80%，世界范围减排50%。我们仍然这样认为。”但他补充称：“我不清楚这是否会纳入协定。”

A binding agreement to cut emissions at Copenhagen is seen as unlikely, but negotiators believe the meeting will set out the political framework for reducing greenhouse gases.

有关各方认为，不太可能在哥本哈根达成一项具有约束力的减排协定，但谈判代表相信，大会将搭建减少温室气体排放的政治框架。

Dropping the 2050 demand will make it easier to strike a deal in Copenhagen, as it will switch attention to how countries manage emissions in the next decade.

放弃2050年的减排指标要求，将降低在哥本哈根达成协定的难度，人们的注意力将转向各国如何控制下一个十年的排放量。

“Discussions on 2050 have been eating up time that could be more usefully spent determining what we do before we're all dead,” said one senior official involved in the talks.

一名参与谈判的高层官员表示：“着眼2050年的讨论消耗了时间，把这些时间用来决定我们有生之年能做些什么，才是更有用的做法。”

Developed countries have already agreed to cut their emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, which will remain unchanged.

发达国家已经同意，到2050年把排放量减少80%，这一承诺将不会改变。

Ed Miliband, the UK secretary of state for climate change, also signalled the 2050 goal was dispensable. He praised the actions developing countries such as China and India were taking to curb emissions growth and said these pledges for the next decade were paramount.

英国气候变化大臣埃德•米利班德(Ed Miliband)也暗示，2050年的目标是可以舍弃的。他赞扬了中国和印度等发展中国家为抑制排放增长而采取的行动，并表示，这些针对下一个十年的承诺才是至关重要的。