11-06-09

 

11-06-09

巴塞罗纳会议未能就气候公约框架达成共识 (Officials: Global Climate Treaty to be Delayed)

在西班牙巴塞罗纳举行的国际气候会议进入最后一天，但是各国官员未能就新的气候公约框架达成共识。与会代表已经进行了一周的会议，以制定出一个初步计划，为超过190个国家下月在哥本哈根签署该协议扫清道路。 但是联合国气候变化框架公约行政秘书星期五表示，要正式出台一份具有法律效力的文件恐怕还需要一年的时间。谈判代表们下个月在丹麦首都哥本哈根商讨新公约的框架，正式的公约会在2012年最终敲定。现有的京都议定书 国际气候公约将于2012年期满失效。

Senior officials from countries around the world have entered the last day of a climate conference in Barcelona (Spain) without an agreement on a blueprint for a new climate treaty. Delegates have been meeting in the Spanish coastal city for a week to work out a plan that would clear the way for more than 190 nations to sign an accord next month in Copenhagen. But a United Nations official (UN executive secretary of the Framework Convention on Climate Ivo de Boer) said Friday it may take another year to put in place a legally binding document. He said negotiators will meet in the Danish capital to try to agree on a framework for the treaty, which would be finalized in 2010. The current climate treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, expires in 2012.   简明英汉词典 legal binding    法律约束

美失业率上升至10.2% (US Unemployment Rate Soars, Hits 10.2 %)

美国十月份的失业率窜升到10.2%，达到1983年以来的最高点。美国劳工部星期五发表报告说，美国雇主10月份裁员减少，但是整个经济失去了19万个就业机会。在失业率上升的同时，解雇的速度从今年年初开始放慢。一月份美国失去了近75万个就业机会。 有些经济学者担心高失业率会导致家庭收入减少，从而影响到美国的消费，而美国经济大约70%都是靠消费推动的。上个星期的数据显示，七、八、九三个月美国经济扩张，这是一年多来首次增长。

The U.S. unemployment rate rose sharply to 10.2 percent in October, the highest level since 1983. Friday's report from the Labor Department says U.S. employers cut fewer workers in October than the prior month, but the overall economy still lost 190,000 jobs. While the unemployment rate is rising, the pace of layoffs has slowed from early this year, when nearly three-quarters of a million jobs were lost in January. Some economists worry that high unemployment is cutting the incomes of U.S. households, which will hurt the consumer spending that propels about 70 percent of the U.S. economy. The downbeat jobs report follows last week's data showing the U.S. economy expanding in July, August, and September, the first growth in more than a year. down‧beat 1 / ‘daʊnbiːt / adjective not showing any strong feelings, especially not happy ones [≠ upbeat ] : Al was surprisingly downbeat about the party.

 

11-06-09