To save the climate, we have to reimagine capitalism | Rebecca Henderson

Transcriber: TED Translators Admin Reviewer: Rhonda Jacobs

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

I am a tree hugger.

我是一个环保主义者。

I spent much of my childhood

我童年的大部分时间

on the great lower limb of a massive copper beech,

都坐在一棵高耸的铜山毛榉的 巨大树干上，

alternately reading and looking up at the sky through its branches.

一会儿阅读， 一会儿穿过它的树枝仰望天空。

I felt safe and cared for

和一个比我大得多的东西 联系在一起，

and connected to something infinitely larger than myself.

让我感到安全和自在。

I thought the trees were immortal, that they would always be here.

我以为这些树是不朽的， 它们会一直在这里。

But I was wrong.

但我错了

The trees are dying.

树木正在慢慢死去。

Climate change is killing the cedars of Lebanon

气候变化正在杀死黎巴嫩的雪松

and the forests of the American West.

和美国西部的森林。

And it's not just the trees.

然而身处绝境的不仅仅是树木。

Since 1998, extreme heat has killed more than 160,000 people,

自 1998 年以来， 酷热已导致超过 16 万人死亡，

and unchecked climate change could kill millions more.

而不受控制的气候变化 可能会使更多的人丧生。

How did we get here?

事情为什么会变成这样？

There are many reasons, of course,

当然有很多原因，

but one of the most important

但最重要的是，

is that we let capitalism morph into something monstrous.

我们让资本主义变成了 一种可怕的东西。

I'm a huge fan of capitalism at its best.

我非常拥护 最佳状态下的资本主义。

After all, I'm an economist and a business school professor.

毕竟，我是个经济学家 和商学院教授。

I think genuinely free and fair markets

我认为真正自由公平的市场

are one of the great inventions of the human race.

是人类最伟大的发明之一。

But here's the catch:

但问题是：

markets only work their magic when prices reflect real costs.

只有当价格反映真实价值时， 市场才会发挥其魔力。

And right now, prices are badly out of whack.

而现在，价格严重失调。

We're letting the firms who sell fossil fuels,

我们放任那些 出售化石燃料的公司——

and indeed anyone who emits greenhouse gases,

事实上，也包括任何 排放温室气体的人——

cause enormous damage for which they do not have to pay.

造成了他们不必赔偿的巨大损失，

And that is hardly fair.

这很不公平。

Imagine for a moment

想象一下，

that my hands are filled with a cloud of electrons,

我的手中满是电子云，

10 dollars' worth of coal-fired electricity

价值 10 美元的燃煤电力

that could power your cell phone for more than 10 years.

可以给你的手机供电 10 年以上。

That probably sounds like a pretty good deal.

这可能听起来相当划算。

But it's only so cheap

但它之所以这么廉价，

because you're not paying for the harm that it causes.

因为你并没有 为它所造成的危害付出代价。

Burning coal sends poisons like mercury and lead into the air,

燃烧煤炭会像水银一样产生毒物， 并将其释放到空气中，

increasing healthcare costs by billions of dollars

导致医疗保健费用增加数十亿美元，

and causing the death

以及每年

of hundreds of thousands of people every year.

几十万人死亡，

It also emits huge quantities of carbon dioxide.

还有大规模的二氧化碳排放。

So another part of the real cost of coal

燃烧煤炭的另一部分真实成本，

is the climate damage it will cause and is already causing.

就是它会造成， 并且已经造成的气候破坏。

More than a million acres burned in California this summer,

今年夏天，加利福尼亚州 超过 100 万英亩的土地被烧毁，

and massive floods put a third of Bangladesh under water.

大规模的洪水 使三分之一的孟加拉被淹没。

Hundreds of studies have tried to put a number on these costs.

数百项研究试图量化这种后果。

My sense of this work,

我对这一做法的估计，

and here I'm relying on my colleagues in the School of Public Health

基于我和公共卫生学院的同事

and my friends in economics,

以及经济学领域一些朋友的合作，

is that generating 10 dollars' worth of coal-fired electricity

就是产生价值 10 美元的燃煤电力

causes at least eight dollars' worth of harm to human health

会对人体健康造成 至少价值 8 美元的危害，

and at least another eight dollars' worth of climate damage

以及至少价值 8 美元的气候损害，

and probably much more.

甚至更多。

So the true cost of this handful of electrons?

所以这一点电的真正成本

It's not 10 dollars.

可远不止 10 美元，

It's something more like 26.

而是差不多 26 美元。

The hidden costs of doing things like burning oil and gas

燃烧化石燃料的隐性成本

and eating beef are similarly enormous and just as unfair.

和吃牛肉同样巨大， 也同样产生了不平等。

Everyone who's trying to build a clean economy

每个试图打造清洁经济的人

has to compete with firms that are heavily subsidized

必须与那些以破坏我们的健康， 并导致气候的退化为代价。

by the destruction of our health and the degradation of our climate.

来得到大量补贴的公司竞争。

This is not the capitalism I signed up for.

这不是我所支持的资本主义，

This is not a market that is either free or fair.

这也不是自由或公平的市场。

So ...

那么...

What do we do?

我们该怎么办？

The "easy" answer is that governments should insist

“简单”的答案是，政府应该坚持

that anyone who emits greenhouse gases pay for the damage that they cause.

任何排放温室气体的人 都应赔偿他们造成的损失。

However, at the moment,

然而，目前还没有太多迹象表明

there's not much sign that governments are up for this,

政府已经准备好这么做，

partly because the fossil fuel companies have spent the last 20 years

部分原因在于，化石燃料公司 在过去的 20 年里，

using their heavily subsidized profits

一直在利用大量补贴带来的利润 否认气候变化的现实，

to deny the reality of climate change

and to shower the politicians,

对本应对它们 进行管制的官员施加压力。

who should be regulating them, with money.

So here's my crazy idea.

那么，下面就是 我提出的一个疯狂的想法。

I think business should step up.

我认为商业领域应该承担责任。

I think business should fix capitalism.

我认为商业应该修复资本主义。

I know. (Laughs)

我知道，

Some of you are probably thinking, "Fat chance."

你们中的一些人 可能会想，“根本没戏”。

Didn't I just say that companies are the ones denying the science,

我不是刚刚才说， 正是那些公司在否认科学、

distorting the market and lobbying the politicians?

扭曲市场和游说政客吗？

I did.

我的确是这么说的。

But fixing this is squarely in the private sector's interest.

但是解决这个问题 也完全符合私营部门的利益。

The truth is business is screwed if we don't fix climate change.

事实是，如果我们不解决气候变化问题， 那么公司也会面临经营困境。

It's going to be hard to make money

当各大沿海城市被淹没，

when the great coastal cities are under water

由于粮食歉收，数以百万计 愤怒的人们开始北迁，

and millions of angry people are migrating north as the harvests fail.

公司就会很难盈利。

It's going to be tough to keep free enterprise alive

如果大多数人相信富人和白人

if most people believe the rich and the white

为了自己的利益 而利用气候变化来破坏地球。

are using it to trash the planet for their own benefit.

自由企业也将很难存活。

So let me tell you what this looks like on the ground.

我来具体解释一下。

My friend Erik Osmundsen left a cushy job in private equity

我的朋友埃里克·奥斯蒙森（Erik Osmundsen） 离开了私人股本公司的一份轻松的工作，

to become the CEO of a garbage company.

成为了一家垃圾处理公司的 CEO。

That sounds like a slightly odd idea.

这听起来有点荒唐。

But Erik wanted to make a difference,

但埃里克想要有所作为，

and changing the way that trash is handled

因为改变垃圾处理方式

could reduce emissions by billions of tons.

可以减少数十亿吨的排放。

Right away, he ran into a massive problem:

不过很快，他就遇到了个大问题：

the industry was thoroughly corrupt.

这个行业腐败透顶。

Firms were cutting costs by dumping waste illegally,

公司通过非法倾倒废物来削减成本，

the regulations were poorly enforced

监管执行不力，

and the fines for violation were tiny.

因违规所遭受的罚款 也少得可怜。

Erik announced he was going to run clean

埃里克宣布， 他要摒弃一切行业恶习，

and to raise prices to cover the costs of doing so.

并提高价格以支付这样做的费用。

Many of his senior team thought he was crazy.

他的许多资深团队成员都认为他疯了，

Half of them quit.

其中有一半的人退出了。

So did many of his customers.

他的许多客户也是如此。

His competitors denounced him for bringing the industry into disrepute,

他的竞争对手谴责他 使这个行业声名狼藉。

and he started to receive personal threats.

他还开始受到人身威胁。

But corruption works best when it's hidden.

但是隐藏之下的腐败最难察觉。

As soon as Erik went public, people started to step up.

埃里克将这个秘密公之于众， 而人们也纷纷开始站出来。

A few customers were willing to pay more.

一些客户表示愿意付更多的钱。

His investors agreed that taking the high road could pay off.

他的投资者也一致认为， 秉持道德标准终会有回报。

Those of his employees who remained loved the idea of taking a stand

他那些留下来的雇员 非常支持这一表明立场的理念，

and found all kinds of legal ways to cut costs.

并找到了各种合法途径削减成本。

Erik persuaded several of his competitors

埃里克说服了许多竞争对手，

to join him in refusing to dispose of garbage illegally,

和他一起拒绝非法处理垃圾，

and it got much tougher for regulators to stay on the sidelines.

监管机构要想置身事外 也变得更加困难。

Today, Erik's company, Norsk Gjenvinning,

而今天，埃里克的公司 Norsk Gjenvinning

is one of the largest recycling companies in Scandinavia.

是斯堪的纳维亚 最大的回收公司之一。

Let me generalize.

让我概括一下。

These are the four pillars of change:

变革的四大支柱包括：

Build a business that can set the right price

第一，建立一个能设定合理价格，

and still be profitable.

但仍然能够盈利的企业。

Persuade your competitors to do the same thing.

第二，说服竞争对手做同样的事情。

Make sure that investors understand there's money to be made.

第三，确保投资者了解 依然有钱可赚。

And push governments to put the right price into law

第四，推动政府 将合理价格纳入法律，

so that bottom-feeders can't survive.

让那些想要坐收渔利的 贪婪之人无利可图。

I'm not telling you we've got this nailed.

这并不是说，问题已经解决了。

Things are pretty desperate.

情况依然相当危急。

But there are thousands of businesspeople like Erik,

但是我们有成千上万 像埃里克那样的商人，

and there are millions of people like us.

也有数百万像我们这样的人。

And we are customers, employees, investors and citizens.

我们是顾客、雇员、投资者和公民。

Instead of giving up on capitalism, let's fix it

与其放弃资本主义，

by making sure that markets are truly fair and truly free,

不如通过确保市场真正公平 和真正自由来解决它的问题——

and that no one can dump garbage on us

没有人能随意倾倒垃圾 而不付出代价。

and walk away without paying for it.

We have the resources and the technology to solve climate change.

我们有现成的资源和技术 来应对气候变化。

Together, we can save the trees

众志成城， 我们就可以一同拯救树木，

and each other.

还有彼此。

Thank you.

谢谢。