联合国气候变化大会在南非开幕

Representatives from nearly 200 countries have gathered in Durban, South Africa for a U.N. conference on climate change. The 12-day meeting began Monday and will focus on efforts to extend the Kyoto Protocol, which is set to expire next year. The Kyoto pact committed industrialized nations to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by a set amount by 2012, but efforts to negotiate its successor have been on hold since the failure of the climate conference in Copenhagen two years ago. Few believe this conference will result in a new agreement, but delegates said Monday they are hopeful.

来自将近200个国家的代表齐聚南非德班，参加有关气候变化的联合国会议。这次为期12天的会议星期一开始，会议将讨论延长明年到期的《京都议定书》的有关工作。《京都议定书》责成工业化国家必须在2012年前把温室气体排放降低到一定水平。但两年前在哥本哈根举行的气候变化会议以失败告终之后，国际社会用新的协定取代《京都议定书》的谈判就一直陷入停滞。很少有人相信这次会议能够达成新的协议，但是代表们星期一说他们抱有希望。

Tanzania's Richard Muyungi said he thinks the countries can overcome the challenges of the debate. Meanwhile, Bolivia's Diego Balanza said delegates have to move past the previous climate conference failures. He said delegates must push to secure large commitments, which were not achieved by prior ious efforts have focused on how to balance the responsibilities of developed nations with those of emerging and still-developing countries.

坦桑尼亚代表穆永吉说，他认为各国能够克服谈判中的挑战。与此同时，玻利维亚代表巴兰萨说，代表们必须超越过去气候会议中的失败。他说，各国代表必须努力确保做出重要承诺，在以往的会谈中没有取得这种成果。之前的谈判重点是如何平衡发达国家与新兴国家及发展中国家之间的责任比重。