為了減緩全球變暖，農(nóng)業(yè)必須改變

為了減緩全球變暖，農(nóng)業(yè)必須改變

Humans must drastically alter food production in order to prevent the most catastrophic effects of global warming, according to a new report from the United Nations panel on climate change.

聯(lián)合國氣候變化專門委員會(United Nations panel on climate change)的一份最新報告顯示，為了防止全球變暖帶來的最嚴(yán)重災(zāi)難性影響，人類必須大幅改變糧食生產(chǎn)。

The panel of scientists looked at the climate change effects of agriculture, deforestation and other land use, such as managing grasslands and wetlands. Together, those activities generate about a third of human greenhouse gas emissions, including more than 40% of methane.

這個科學(xué)家小組研究了農(nóng)業(yè)、森林砍伐和其他土地利用(如管理草原和濕地)對氣候變化的影響。這些活動總共產(chǎn)生了約三分之一的人類溫室氣體排放，包括超過40%的甲烷。

That's important because methane is particularly good at trapping heat in the atmosphere. And the problem is getting more severe.

這一點很重要，因為甲烷特別善于在大氣中吸收熱量。問題變得越來越嚴(yán)重。

"Emissions from agricultural production are projected to increase," the authors warn. "Delaying action" on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, they continue, "could result in some irreversible impacts on some ecosystems."

“農(nóng)業(yè)生產(chǎn)的排放預(yù)計會增加，”作者警告說。他們繼續(xù)說，在減少溫室氣體排放方面的“拖延行動”“可能對某些生態(tài)系統(tǒng)造成一些不可逆轉(zhuǎn)的影響”。

This is the latest in a series of reports from the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The new report adds weight and detail to a warning put out by the same panel of scientists last fall, in which they sounded the alarm about the inadequacy of the pledges countries have made so far to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

這是聯(lián)合國政府間氣候變化專門委員會(ipcc)一系列報告中的最新一份。這份新報告為去年秋天同一個科學(xué)家小組發(fā)出的警告增加了分量和細(xì)節(jié)。去年秋天，他們對各國迄今在減少溫室氣體排放方面做出的承諾不足發(fā)出了警告。

At that time, the panel broadly suggested that farmland would need to shrink and forests would need to grow to keep Earth from getting more than 1.5 degrees Celsius hotter than it was in the preindustrial era. Global temperatures have already risen about 1 degree Celsius in the past 150 years.

當(dāng)時，該小組廣泛建議，農(nóng)田需要縮小，森林需要擴(kuò)大，以防止地球溫度比前工業(yè)化時代升高1.5攝氏度以上。在過去的150年里，全球氣溫已經(jīng)上升了大約1攝氏度。

To meet that temperature target, global greenhouse gas emissions will need to fall by 40% to 50% in the next decade. Scientists say the only way to achieve that reduction is to significantly increase the amount of land that's covered in trees and other vegetation and significantly reduce the amount of methane and other greenhouse gases that come from raising livestock such as cows, sheep and goats.

為了達(dá)到這一溫度目標(biāo)，全球溫室氣體排放需要在未來十年下降40%到50%?？茖W(xué)家表示，實現(xiàn)這一目標(biāo)的唯一途徑是顯著增加樹木和其他植被覆蓋的土地面積，并顯著減少飼養(yǎng)奶牛、綿羊和山羊等牲畜所產(chǎn)生的甲烷和其他溫室氣體。

The new report offers some broad suggestions for how countries might achieve that. For example, for countries that have lost tree cover in the past century, reforestation can help suck greenhouse gases out of the air, while also preventing soil from drying up. Reducing food waste can also help reduce a country's greenhouse gas footprint.

這份新報告為各國如何實現(xiàn)這一目標(biāo)提供了一些廣泛的建議。例如，對于上個世紀(jì)失去樹木覆蓋的國家來說，重新造林可以幫助吸收空氣中的溫室氣體，同時防止土壤干燥。減少食物浪費也有助于減少一個國家的溫室氣體足跡。

Controlling emissions from agriculture is also a food-security issue. Greenhouse gases from food production create a vicious cycle: As Earth gets hotter, farming gets more difficult in many places, which forces farmers to clear more land to grow food.

控制農(nóng)業(yè)排放也是一個糧食安全問題。糧食生產(chǎn)產(chǎn)生的溫室氣體形成了一個惡性循環(huán):隨著地球變暖，許多地方的農(nóng)業(yè)生產(chǎn)變得更加困難，這迫使農(nóng)民開墾更多的土地來種植糧食。

"Climate change, including increases in frequency and intensity of extremes, has adversely impacted food security and terrestrial ecosystems, as well as contributed to desertification and land degradation in many regions," the report's authors write.

報告的作者寫道:“氣候變化，包括極端情況發(fā)生的頻率和強(qiáng)度的增加，對糧食安全和陸地生態(tài)系統(tǒng)產(chǎn)生了負(fù)面影響，并導(dǎo)致許多地區(qū)的荒漠化和土地退化。”

If greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, as they are doing today, it will exacerbate those challenges and eventually make it all but impossible to control global warming without creating serious food shortages.

如果溫室氣體排放量繼續(xù)增加，就像他們今天所做的那樣，這將加劇這些挑戰(zhàn)，最終使控制全球變暖而不造成嚴(yán)重的糧食短缺幾乎是不可能的。