Meet Methane, the Invisible Climate Villain | Marcelo Mena | TED

譯者: 麗玲 辛 審譯者: Helen Chang

This is the Ghazipur landfill in Delhi, India.

這是印度德里的加濟布爾垃圾掩埋場，

It’s almost 20 stories high and it often collapses,

近 20 層樓高，經常崩塌，

killing the waste pickers that work there.

殺死到那裡撿垃圾的人。

Last year, when temperatures hit 43 degrees Celsius,

去年，當溫度達到攝氏 43 度，

it caught fire three times in a month and burned for 48 hours straight,

掩埋場一個月內起火三次 ， 連續燒了48 小時，

exposing the city to harmful particulate matter.

使城市暴露在有害的懸浮微粒中。

This happens because the organic waste in the landfills

這是因為掩埋場的有機廢物分解，

decomposes to form methane,

形成甲烷，

a highly flammable and potent greenhouse gas.

這是一種易燃、強大的溫室氣體。

And as we have more and more heat waves, the problem will only get worse.

隨著熱浪越來越頻繁， 這個問題只會變得更糟。

This landfill in Buenos Aires

這個掩埋場位於布宜諾斯艾利斯，

causes the pollution equivalent to roughly 1.4 million cars,

造成的污染相當於 約一百四十萬輛汽車，

or the same as roughly two average-sized coal-fired power plants.

或大約與兩個中等燃煤發電廠相同。

Landfills like these are major contributors to climate change

這樣的掩埋場是氣候變遷的主要因素，

because of the methane they emit.

因為它們排放的甲烷。

Methane ...

甲烷...

comes from everywhere in the world,

來自世界各地，

but in developing countries, emissions are expected to double by 2050.

但在發展中國家，預計到 2050 年 甲烷的排放量將增加一倍。

Methane is therefore the Global South's climate challenge,

因此，甲烷是全球南方的氣候挑戰，

because it's a development challenge.

因為它是發展上的挑戰。

As poor countries get richer,

隨著貧窮國家越來越富有，

their demand for food and consumer goods will increase,

人們對食品和消費貨品的需求將增加，

and so will the waste they generate.

產生的廢物也會增加。

If we're going to keep warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius,

如果要保持升溫在攝氏 1.5 度以下，

we need to reduce methane emissions in half by 2050.

我們需要在 2050 前 減少 一半的甲烷排放量。

But we must do so without getting in the way

但是，這樣做的同時，

我們也必須不阻礙 開發中國家的生活質量改善。

of quality-of-life improvements in the Global South.

That's why, in 2022, I became the CEO of the Global Methane Hub,

這就是為什麼，2022 年， 我成為全球甲烷中心的執行長，

a major philanthropic effort focused on methane mitigation,

這是一項重大慈善事業， 專注於甲烷緩解，

based out of Santiago, Chile.

總部位於智利聖地亞哥。

Methane doesn't get the same attention as carbon dioxide does,

甲烷受到的關注不如二氧化碳，

but it's contributed to nearly half the warming

但它造成了我們迄今所見 近一半的暖化。

we've experienced to date.

It's short-lived,

甲烷生命週期很短，

so we stop emissions now, its warming effect will soon follow.

所以我們現在停止排放， 它的暖化效果很快就會隨之停止。

If we only focus on carbon-dioxide emissions,

如果我們只專注於二氧化碳排放，

we're only going to get half the temperature reduction

接下來的二十年， 我們將只能減少一半的升溫。

with these next two decades.

Mitigating methane, therefore,

因此，減輕甲烷是

is the fastest, most efficient way to reduce temperature

在我們有生之年降低氣溫 最快、最有效的方法。

within our lifetime.

But don't get me wrong,

但不要誤解我，

this is not about delaying action on fossil fuels.

這不是說我們可以延遲 對化石燃料的行動。

40 percent of methane emissions come from fossil-fuel extraction.

四成的甲烷排放來自化石燃料的開採。

But today, I'm going to talk about the other 60 percent

但今天，我要談的是 沒有多少人提到的另外 60％，

that not a lot of people talk about,

食物系統的排放－

which is food systems’ emissions --

食品生產和食物廢棄物。

food production and food waste.

I’m a biochemical engineer, a professor

我是一名生化工程師，一名教授，

and I was formerly the environmental minister for Chile.

我曾是智利環境部長。

Before I got into politics,

在我從事政治之前，

when I was a graduate student at the University of Iowa,

我在愛荷華大學讀研究所，

I’d work with NASA,

我曾與美國太空總署合作，

tracking air pollution across continents

使用飛機和衛星追踪跨洲的空氣污染。

using aircraft and satellites.

When I got back home,

回國後，我使用相同的工具 開發空氣質量預測系統，

I used the same tools to develop air-quality forecasting systems

that helped change the way we did things.

這有助於改變我們做事的方式。

而且我們的空氣污染指數也大幅下降。

And we had a radical drop in air-pollution levels.

But during my tenure, a large landfill caught fire,

但在我擔任環境部長期間， 一個大型掩埋場發生火災，

and it put the whole city of Santiago under a black cloud

整個聖地亞哥城市籠罩在 黑色致癌煙霧之下。

of carcinogenic soot.

It was an event our model couldn't predict.

這是我們的模型無法預測的事件。

It was methane, again.

又是甲烷。

Another landfill nearby smelled so terrible

附近的另一個掩埋場惡臭難聞，

that neighbors protested for weeks.

附近居民抗議數週。

And they were right -- nobody deserves to live like that.

他們很有道理，沒有人應該這樣生活。

And we could do something about it.

我們可以為此做些什麼。

The organic waste in landfills

掩埋場中的有機廢物

is one of the most visible sources of methane,

是甲烷最明顯的來源之一。

literally.

And food systems,

而食品系統，

food loss and waste, is a big part of the problem.

食物流失和浪費則是問題的主要來源。

Fifty percent of all food systems’ emissions

食品系統的總排放量中， 百分之五十來自未被食用的食物。

come from food that nobody ever eats.

In Sub-Saharan Africa,

在非洲撒哈拉以南，

37 percent of all food that's produced is either lost or wasted,

生產的食物中有 37% 被丟棄或浪費，

either because there's not enough infrastructure to store it,

因為沒有足夠的基礎設施

來儲存、運輸或防止食物損壞。

to transport it, or to keep it from spoiling.

The other part ends up in the trash,

另一部分最終會進入垃圾桶，

and when that organic waste is concentrated in the landfill,

當有機廢物集中在掩埋場時，

we can see the methane this waste emits from space.

從太空我們就可以看到 這些廢物散發的甲烷。

The NGO Carbon Mapper is a public-private partnership

非政府組織 Carbon Mapper 是一家公私合作夥伴組織，

that's leveraging technology developed by NASA scientists

利用美國太空總署科學家 開發的技術，

to pinpoint methane sources across the world.

精確定位世界各地的甲烷來源。

They started with aircraft

他們從飛機開始，

and soon they’ll be up in a satellite.

很快他們就會登上衛星。

Seeing methane this way contributes to real mitigation,

以這種方式偵測甲烷有助於 找到真正的緩解措施，

and the Sunshine Canyon Landfill

而在洛杉磯的陽光峽谷 掩埋場就是個例子。

in Los Angeles

is an example of this.

Airborne methane data inform basic operational improvements,

空氣中的甲烷數據提供了 基本的營運改進方法，

such as covering the daily trash with liners,

例如用襯墊覆蓋每日垃圾，

which led to a radical drop in emissions,

這導致排放量大大降低，

60 percent lower emissions,

減少 60％，

and the complaints from neighbors disappeared.

居民的投訴消失了。

Now we decided to take this effort globally,

現在，我們決定努力推廣到全球，

and with our colleagues from RMI,

與來自 RMI、清潔空氣專責小組 和碳測試人員一起，

the Clean Air Task Force and Carbon Mapper,

we put together the Waste MAP,

共同制定了廢甲烷評估平台。

the Waste Methane Assessment Platform,

which links satellite information,

該平台將衛星資訊、

NGOs and local governments

非政府組織和地方政府 聯繫起來，進行干預。

to intervene.

With other colleagues,

與其他同事一起，

we’re working in the biggest landfills in the world,

我們在世界上最大的掩埋場工作，

including the one you saw in Delhi,

包括您剛在德里看到的掩埋場，

the one in Buenos Aires,

布宜諾斯艾利斯的掩埋場，

當然還有我居住的聖地亞哥市。

and of course the city of Santiago, where I live.

Pinpointing methane sources allows us to stop existing emissions,

精確地找到甲烷來源， 讓我們能夠阻止現有的排放，

but it also helps prevent new emissions from occurring, too.

但也有助於防止新的排放。

And it starts with organic waste diversion.

從有機廢物分流開始，

We could do a lot of different solutions,

我們可以施行很多不同的解決方案，

like composting.

例如堆肥，

We could do food banking,

設立食物銀行，

or we could turn that organic waste into food,

或者把有機廢物轉化成食物，

like what my dog, Rucio, eats,

就像我的狗 Rucio 所吃的

made from soldier flies that grew on food waste.

是吃食物廢棄物的水虻所製成的。

Now don't worry,

別擔心，

I would never feed my dog anything I wouldn't eat.

我永遠不會餵我的狗 我不會吃的東西。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But food waste is not the only problem.

但食物浪費並不是唯一的問題。

What we eat also has big impact.

我們吃的東西也有很大的影響。

And in that, cows -- raising cows for dairy and meat

在這方面，為了牛奶和牛肉而飼養牛

is the single largest anthropogenic source of methane.

是人類最大的甲烷來源。

That's right, cow burps.

沒錯，牛會打嗝。

The scientific name for that is enteric fermentation.

它的科學名稱是腸發酵。

If you feed an animal low-quality food instead of high-quality food,

如果您餵牛吃低品質的食物 而不是高品質的食物，

a lot of that energy doesn't go to create milk,

那麼大部分能量不會用於產生牛奶，

it goes to digestion and cow burps.

而是花在消化和打嗝。

So an animal in Sub-Saharan Africa causes five times more emissions

非洲撒哈拉以南一頭牛的排放量 比北美洲的一頭牛多五倍，

than one in North America,

per unit of milk,

以一單位牛奶產量相比，

becasue it's usually eating suboptimal food.

因為那裡的牛隻 通常吃的不是最佳選擇。

So improved breeding, feeding and animal welfare

因此，改善育種、飼養和動物福利

could reduce emissions and improve income for farmers.

可以減少排放量並提高農民的收入。

But we have to do a lot more about cow-burp emissions,

但對於牛打嗝排放， 我們還有許多事要做，

and that's why we're launching

這就是為什麼我們推出腸發酵研究 和加速開發計畫的原因，

the Enteric Fermentation Research and Development Accelerator,

a 200-million-dollar effort

這是一項 200 億美元的計畫，

that will focus on reducing livestock emissions,

將專注於減少畜牧業排放，

and it will be the biggest effort of its kind.

這將是同類計畫中規模最大的。

You may have heard some scientists are feeding algae or seaweed to animals

您可能聽說有些科學家 正在給動物餵食藻類或海藻，

to change their metabolism to reduce methane emissions,

改變牠們的新陳代謝，減少甲烷排放，

and there's a whole bunch of solutions like that,

還有很多類似的解決方案，

but for each one, we have to know:

但對於每種解決方案，我們必須確定：

Is it safe? Does it last?

它是否安全？效果持續嗎？

And how will it perform when it’s not in optimal settings,

不在最佳狀況時，會有什麼表現，

like when the animal is out in pasture all day,

例如當牛隻整天在牧場放牧， 而不是被餵食？

instead of being fed?

We hope that this research initiative

我們希望這研究倡議

will deliver the scientific breakthroughs we need

將帶來我們所需的科學突破，

to reduce livestock emissions

以減少畜牧業排放，

and keep 1.5 alive.

並保持升溫在 1.5 內。

When I was minister, I would often hear from my colleagues,

當我擔任部長時，我經常聽到同事說：

"Why should we act on climate change,

「其實是富裕國家造成的問題， 為什麼我們該對氣候變化採取行動？」

if it was the rich countries that caused the problem?"

這有點道理。

And it's partly true.

Emissions have historically come from developed countries,

歷史上來看，溫室氣體排放 來自已開發國家，

but they're rising fast in the developing world.

但發展中國家的排放也在迅速增加。

We don't need to follow a path

我們不需要再走一條我們已知 會導致更高的排放和污染的道路——

we know will lead to higher emissions and pollution --

we could cut straight across into sustainable solutions.

我們可以直接邁向永續的解決方案。

But what I hear from colleagues was based on the premise

但我從同事那裡聽到的說法是認為

that reducing emissions will make our day-to-day lives worse

減少排放量會惡化我們的日常生活，

because of all the things we'd have to do without.

因我們不得不採取的行動所導致。

但這是一個錯誤的認知，

But this is a false narrative,

and it's not the case for methane.

甲烷的情況並不是如此。

Methane is a global problem,

甲烷是一個全球問題，

but the benefits are felt where action is taken.

採取行動後，我們會感受到好處。

Vulnerable communities

弱勢社區不再遭受垃圾火災 或惡臭的持續威脅。

that aren't exposed to the constant threat of dump fires

or foul smells.

Landfills that aren't filled with rotting organic waste

掩埋場不再充滿腐爛的有機廢棄物，

that could instead be turned to food or fertilizer.

這些有機物可以變為食物或肥料。

Farmers that are already under the threat of climate change

已經受到氣候變遷威脅的農民 可以獲得收入和韌性，

could gain income and resilience

because of better, more efficient livestock and rice production.

因為有更好、更有效率的 畜牧業和稻米生產。

You and I ...

你和我...

can't do much to create zero-emission cement

無法著力製造零排放水泥，

or change grids across countries or continents --

或在各國或各大洲改變電網－

well, some of you can, but not everybody.

好吧，你們中的一些人 可以做到，但並非所有人。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But 60 percent of our emissions from methane

但是來自甲烷的 60% 排放

come from our food, our trash and our neighborhoods.

來自我們的食物、垃圾和社區。

And taking action on reducing methane now

現在，採取行動，減少甲烷

is a big step to saving the planet.

是拯救地球的重大措施。

And we could start when we get back home,

回家後我們就可以開始：

composting our food.

廚餘堆肥。

We'll see the benefits --

我們將看到這些好處－

better living conditions, cleaner air,

更好的生活條件，更清潔的空氣，

improved food security,

改善糧食安全，

right here and right now.

從現在開始。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Cheers and applause)

（歡呼和掌聲）