The energy Africa needs to develop -- and fight climate change | Rose M. Mutiso

Transcriber: TED Translators Admin Reviewer: Mirjana Čutura

翻译人员: TED Translators Admin 校对人员: Yolanda Zhang

Think about this.

比较一下：

Californians use more electricity playing video games

加利福尼亚人 玩视频游戏所用的电量

than the entire country of Senegal uses overall.

比整个塞内加尔 全国使用的电量还多。

Also, before gyms were shut down due to COVID,

另外，在健身房 因 COVID 而关闭之前，

New Yorkers could work out in a 10-degree-Celsius gym

纽约人可以在 10 摄氏度的健身房健身，

because the cold apparently burns more calories.

因为在“寒冷”：的环境下， 人体会燃烧更多的卡路里。

And yet only three percent of Nigerians have air conditioners.

但是，只有 3％ 的尼日利亚人 家里有空调。

As you can see, there's a mind-blowing gap

很明显，富人和穷人所拥有的能源

between the energy haves and the energy have-nots.

存在着巨大的差异。

And across the globe, we have incredible energy inequality.

在全球范围内， 能源不平等的程度更是难以想象。

Billions of people simply lack enough energy to build a better life:

数十亿的人因为缺乏足够的能源， 无而法过上更好的生活：

affordable, abundant and reliable energy

没有廉价、充足、可靠的能源

to run their businesses without daily blackouts,

来经营他们的生意，

to preserve their crops from rotting,

来防止农作物腐烂，

to power lifesaving medical equipment,

为救生医疗设备供电，

to work from home and do Zoom calls with their colleagues,

在家工作，并与同事进行视频通话，

to run trains and factories,

或者让火车和工厂正常运转，

basically, to grow and to prosper

更无法获得基本的繁荣和发展，

and to access both dignity and opportunity.

以及尊严和机会。

Rich countries have that kind of energy,

发达国家都拥有这些能源，

whereas most countries in Africa, and many elsewhere simply don't.

而非洲大多数国家 和许多其他地区则根本没有。

And those billions of people

这数十亿人的生活 相比世界其他地区，

are falling further and further behind the rest of the world.

落后得越来越多。

In addition to taking their energy abundance for granted,

除了毫无顾忌的消耗能源外，

富裕国家的人认为 其他很多事情也是理所当然的。

the wealthy take something else for granted:

that everyone should fight climate change exactly the same way.

每个人都应该 以同样的方式对待气候变化。

Tackling climate change

应对气候变化需要

will require an accelerated transition to low-carbon energy sources.

加快向低碳能源的过渡。

And yet, emissions continue to climb year after year,

然而排放量却年复一年的攀升，

threatening to blow our tight carbon budget.

不断威胁着 我们严格的碳排放预算。

That's what I want to talk about today.

这也是我今天要谈论的话题。

The carbon budget is an estimation of the total emissions

碳预算是对地球大气层

that our planet's atmosphere can safely absorb.

可以安全吸收的 总排放量的一种估算。

Faced with an imperative to not explode this carbon budget,

面对不超出碳预算的紧迫任务，

the world is looking at Africa in a completely contradictory way.

全世界却在以 一种非常矛盾的方式来看待非洲。

On one side, it wants us to grow,

一方面，它希望我们成长、

to emerge from abject poverty,

摆脱赤贫，

to build a middle class,

并建立一个拥有汽车、

to own cars and air conditioners and other modern amenities

空调和其他现代设施的中产国家。

because after all, Africa is the next global market.

因为毕竟， 非洲将是下一个全球市场。

On the other side,

然而另一方面，

because they are anxious to demonstrate action on climate change,

因为人们急迫的 需要针对气候变化采取行动，

rich countries in the West

西方的富裕国家 正在越来越多的将资金投入到

are increasingly restricting their funding to only renewable energy sources,

可再生能源领域，

effectively telling Africa and other poor nations

并直白地告诉非洲 和其他贫穷国家，

to either develop with no carbon

要么发展无碳社会，

or to limit their development ambitions altogether.

要么就放弃雄心勃勃的发展计划。

Africa obviously needs to develop.

非洲显然需要发展，

That's non-negotiable.

这是毋庸置疑的。

And I want to make the case today that Africa must be prioritized

而我今天要谈论的是， 在考虑碳预算中的剩余额度时，

when it comes to what's left in the carbon budget.

必须优先考虑非洲。

In other words,

换句话说，

Africa must be allowed to, yes, produce more carbon in the short term

必须允许非洲

在短期内实现 更多的的碳排放以发展经济，

so we can grow,

while the rich world needs to drastically cut their emissions.

而与此同时，富裕的国家需要 大大减少碳排放。

Africans have a right to aspire

非洲人民有权追求

to the same prosperity that everyone else enjoys.

其他所有人都享有的那种繁荣。

And we deserve the same chance at a job,

我们也应该获得同等的工作机会、

at an education,

教育机会、

at dignity and opportunity.

尊严和其他发展机遇。

We also understand very well

我们也非常了解，在未来，

that the entire world needs to get to a zero-carbon future.

整个世界都需要 一个零碳的未来。

This might sound contradictory, but consider these three points.

这听起来可能很矛盾， 但请考虑以下这三点：

First, Africa isn't the culprit of climate change.

首先，非洲不是 造成气候变化的罪魁祸首，

It's a victim.

而是受害者。

Africa and its more than one billion people

在全球的气候变化面前，

are among the most vulnerable to climate change on the planet,

非洲的十几亿人口 是最脆弱的群体，

facing the worst impacts of extreme weather, drought and heat.

受到极端天气、 干旱和高温的影响最为严重。

And yet, if you look at the carbon footprint

但是，如果仔细看一下

of the entire African continent,

整个非洲大陆的碳足迹，

48 African countries combined

48 个 非洲国家的碳排放

are responsible for less than one percent of accumulative carbon dioxide

在大气二氧化碳总量中

所占比例还不到 1%。

in the atmosphere.

Even if every one of the one billion people in sub-Saharan Africa

即使南部非洲 十亿人口中的每一个人

tripled their electricity consumption overnight,

一夜之间的用电量增加了两倍，

and if all of that new power came from natural gas-fired plants,

而且所有的新能源 都来自天然气发电厂，

we estimate that the additional CO2 that Africa would add

我们估计，

非洲额外增加的碳排放 也仅相当于全球总排放量的 1％。

would equal to just one percent of total global emissions.

Second, Africa needs more energy to fight climate change, not less.

第二，由于非洲的气候脆弱性， 要应对气候变化，

Because of its climate vulnerability,

非洲反而需要消耗更多的能源。

Africa's climate fight is about adaptation and resilience,

非洲应对气候变化的斗争 涉及适应和恢复能力，

and climate adaptation is energy-intensive.

而适应气候变化 需要耗费大量能源。

To respond to extreme weather,

为了应对极端天气，

Africans will need more resilient infrastructure.

非洲人将需要 抗风险能力更强的基础设施，

We're talking seawalls, highways, safe buildings and more.

比如海堤、高速公路 安全建筑等等。

To cope with drought,

为了应对干旱，

Africans will need pumped irrigation for their agriculture,

非洲人需要抽水灌溉农业，

and many will need desalination for fresh water.

许多人也需要淡化的水。

And to survive soaring temperatures,

为了忍受极端的高温，

Africans will need cold storage and ACs

在亿万非洲人的家庭、

in hundreds of millions of homes,

办公室、仓库、工厂 和数据中心等场所，

offices, warehouses, factories, data centers and the like.

都需要冷藏设备和空调。

These are all energy-intensive activities.

这些都需要大量消耗能源。

If we fail at mitigation,

如果我们没能很好的实现减排，

the rich countries' plan B for climate change is to simply adapt.

富裕国家应对气候变化时 就会只采取替代计划——适应。

Africans need and deserve that same capacity for adaptation.

非洲人需要， 也应该具备同样的适应力。

Third,

第三，

imposing mitigation on the world's poor is widening economic inequality.

强迫贫穷的国家采用同样的减排措施 会加剧经济上的不平等。

We're creating energy apartheid.

我们正在制造“能源种族隔离”。

Working in global energy and development,

我从事的是 全球能源与发展方面的工作，

I often hear people say,

我经常听到人们说，

"Because of climate, we just can't afford for everyone to live our lifestyles."

“因为气候，我们无法承受 让每个人都过上我们这样的生活。”

That viewpoint is worse than patronizing.

这种观点比居高临下的说教更糟。

It's a form of racism,

这是种族主义的一种形式，

and it's creating a two-tier, global energy system

它正在建立 一个上下分级的全球能源系统，

with energy abundance for the rich

为富人提供丰富的能源，

and tiny solar lamps for Africans.

而只为非洲人提供 简陋的太阳能电灯。

The global market for natural gas is a great example of this.

全球天然气市场 就是一个很好的例子。

Large Western companies are actively developing gas fields

西方的大型公司正在

in African countries

非洲积极开发气田，

to run industry and generate electricity in Asia or in Europe.

以保证亚洲或欧洲企业的能源供应。

And yet, when these same African countries want to build power plants at home

然而，当同样的非洲国家 想要在本国建造电厂，

to use gas for their own people,

造福本国人民时，

the Western development and finance communities say,

西方工业与金融界的人士就会说，

"No, we won't fund that."

“不，我们不会投资。”

And here's the irony.

更具有讽刺意味的是，

Many poor countries are already far ahead of the West

当谈及过渡到低碳能源系统时，

when it comes to transitioning to a low-carbon energy system.

许多贫穷国家 已经遥遥领先于西方。

In Kenya, where I'm from, we generate most of our electricity carbon-free.

在我的家乡肯尼亚，我们产生的 大部分电力都是无碳的。

Renewable sources such as geothermal, hydro and wind

可再生能源， 例如地热、水电和风能，

保证了我们大约 80％ 的电力供应。

provide nearly 80 percent of our electricity.

In the US, that figure is only 17 percent.

在美国，这一数字仅为 17％。

So let me repeat my points.

因此，我要重申。

Everyone must get to a zero-carbon future.

我们每个人都有义务 实现一个零碳的未来。

In the transition,

在过渡时期，

Africa and other poor nations deserve to get the balance

非洲和其他贫穷国家应该得到

世界碳预算中剩余部分的额度。

of what's remaining in the world's carbon budget.

For economic competitiveness,

为了提高经济竞争力、

for climate adaptation,

适应气候性、

for global stability

全球稳定

and for economic justice,

和经济公平，

rich and high-emitting countries

富裕和高排放量的国家

must uphold their responsibility to lead on decarbonization,

必须承担减少碳排放的义务，

starting in their own economies.

而且要以身作则。

We all have a collective responsibility to turn the tide on climate change.

我们都有责任扭转气候恶化。

If we fail,

如果我们失败了，

it won't be because Senegal or Kenya or Benin or Mali decided to build

不会是因为塞内加尔、 肯尼亚、贝宁或马里

a handful of natural gas power plants

决定建造几座天然气发电厂，

to provide economic opportunity for their people.

只为了给它们的人民 提供经济机会。

Thank you.

谢谢。