Jingyi 口译及基础知识补充。读者可用于和新东方版本进行对比。

Energy enables. The historic energy transitions – first from human power to animal power, and then from animal power to mechanical power – were major shifts in the human journey toward greater productivity, prosperity, and comfort. It is unimaginable that today’s economies could function without electricity and other modern energy services. From job creation to economic development, from security concerns to the status of women, energy lies at the heart of all countries’ core interests.

Today the world faces two urgent and interconnected challenges related to modern energy services-based on where they are available and where they are not. One out of every five people on Earth lives without access to electricity and the opportunities it provides for working, learning, or operating a business. Twice as many – nearly 3 billion people – use wood, coal, charcoal, or animal waste to cook their meals and heat their homes, exposing themselves and their families to smoke and fumes that damage their health and kill nearly 2 million people a year. Without access to energy, it is not possible to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

Where modern energy services are plentiful, the challenge is different. Emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from fossil fuels are contributing to changes in the Earth’s climate, to the detriment of those who depend on the planet’s natural systems for survival. Extreme weather events may grow more frequent and intense, in rich and poor countries alike, devastating lives, infrastructure, institutions, and budgets. Climate change threatens food and water security for hundreds of millions of people around the world, undermining the most essential foundations of local, national, and global stability. Competition for scarce resources is increasing, exacerbating old conflicts and creating new ones. As lands degrade, forests fall, and sea levels rise, the movement of people driven from their homes by environmental change may reshape the human geography of the planet.

A special International Energy Agency (IEA) report released in October 2011 indicates the scale of the challenge. IEA estimates that:

• More than 1.3 billion people lack access to electricity, and at least 2.7 billion people are without clean cooking facilities. More than 95% of these people are either in sub-Saharan Africa or developing Asia.

• Investment of $48 billion per year will be needed to provide universal energy access by 2030. This is more than five times the level of investment in 2009 to expand energy access ($9.1 billion) but represents only 3 percent of total global energy investment. Only $4-5 billion per year of that total is needed for clean cooking facilities.

Scientists warn that if the world continues on the current path, global temperatures could rise by more than four degrees Celsius by the end of this century. That will affect everything from the world economy to the health of our citizens and the health of the ecosystems that sustain life on Earth, from energy, food, and water security to international security. We know now that we cannot continue to burn our way to prosperity.

We can choose a different path. Rapid advances in technologies that produce energy from renewable sources and use it more efficiently have made clean energy more affordable than ever, and technologies are being developed that promise cleaner ways of using fossil fuels. Another major shift is at hand – a transformation of the world’s energy systems that will benefit people everywhere.

Growing up as a child during the Korean War, I knew poverty firsthand. I saw it around me every day; I lived it. I studied by candlelight. Conveniences like refrigerators and fans were unknown.

Today, I have seen a brighter energy future in a deeply impoverished region of Malawi, where low-cost solar energy mini-grids are powering modern technologies, such as smart phones and mobile broadband, the latest in drip irrigation, and modern diagnostic tests for malaria, that have the potential to advance human well-being in ways that were not feasible even a few years ago.

Next year the world will gather in Rio de Janeiro for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, or Rio+20. Rio+20 represents an important opportunity for new and decisive steps to mobilize support for clean energy investment – an approach that emphasizes practical answers – and places the social, economic, and environmental pillars of sustainable development more equally at the center of policy-making. In Rio the world must connect the dots between growth, energy, water, and food security, poverty, climate change, biodiversity, health, and women’s empowerment. Energy can lead the way. I urge the leaders of governments, civil society, communities, and the private sector to turn this vision into reality with concrete commitments to action. With the right actions, world leaders can improve the lives of billions of people.

At a time when so many economies are struggling, some may claim that sustainability is a luxury we cannot afford. But the opposite is true: Depleting our natural resources will deplete our chances of true prosperity. We need to reduce global emissions, conserve the wealth of nature, empower the world’s most vulnerable populations, and catalyze low-carbon prosperity for all. None of this will be possible without a clean energy revolution.

Sustainable development is the imperative of the 21st century. Protecting our planet, lifting people out of poverty, advancing economic growth – these are different aspects of the same fight. We endeavor to create new business and market opportunities, new jobs, and new possibilities for human advancement. We will not achieve any of these goals without energy – sustainable energy for all.

能源就是力量。历史上，能源的转变，首先从人力到畜力，然后由畜力到机械动力，是人类提高生产力、走向繁荣、增进舒适的旅程上的重大转变。如果没有电力等现代能源服务，就无法想象今天的经济将如何运作。从就业机会的创造到经济发展，从安全问题到妇女地位，能源是所有国家的核心利益的中心。

当今世界面临两个紧迫的挑战，两者彼此关联，且都与现代能源服务相关，取决于何处有之，何处无之。地球上每五个人当中有一个人用不上电，因而得不到电力所带来的工作、学习或经营的机会。两倍于此的人，即将近30亿人，使用木柴、煤、木炭或动物粪便来做饭、取暖，使自己和家人饱受烟熏火烤之苦，健康受到损害，每年因此有近200万人死亡。没有能源，就无法实现千年发展目标。

在现代能源服务充分之处，所面临的挑战则不同。化石燃料的二氧化碳和其他温室气体的排放助长地球气候的变化，有损于依赖地球自然系统生存的人。极端气候现象可能更趋频繁，更加剧烈，且不分国度之贫富，均摧毁生命，摧毁基础设施，摧毁体制，耗竭预算。气候变化威胁到世界各地千千万万人的食物和水的保障，破坏地方、国家、全球稳定的最根本的基础。对稀缺资源的争夺日趋激烈，加剧了原有冲突，引发了新的争端。随着土地退化、森林减少、海平面上升，因环境变化而背井离乡的人群迁徙可能改变地球的人文地理。

国际能源机构于2011年10月发布的一份特别报告揭示了这一挑战的深度和广度。据该机构估计：

• 13亿以上的人没有电力供应，至少有27亿人没有清洁的烹调设施。这其中95%以上的人生活在撒哈拉以南的非洲或亚洲。

• 要实现到2030年普及能源使用的目标，每年将需要480亿美元的投资。这相当于2009年扩大能源供应的投资数额（91亿美元）的五倍以上，但仅为全球能源投资总额的3%。在这一投资总额中，每年只需要40～50 亿美元用于清洁烹调设施。

科学家警告说，如果世界继续我行我素，到本世纪末，全球气温就可能上升到四摄氏度以上。这将影响到方方面面，从世界经济到各国公民的健康和维系地球生命的生态系统的健康，从能源、食品、供水保障到国际安全。现在我们知道，我们不能长此以往，不能只顾追求繁荣而耗尽资源。

我们可选择不同的道路。利用可再生资源生产能源，及提高能源使用效率的技术的迅速进步，使清洁能源空前廉价。同时，目前正在开发的技术渴望开创更清洁的化石燃料利用方式。另一重大转变近在眼前，那就是实现世界能源系统的转变，造福世界各地人民。

我在朝鲜战争期间长大，生活于贫困之中，每天目睹贫如一洗的周围，对贫困有亲身体验。读书时得借烛光。冰箱、电扇等方便生活的用品连听没有听说过。

今天，在马拉维一个深陷于贫困之中的地区，我看到了能源更加光明的未来，在这里低成本的太阳能微型电网为诸如智能手机、移动宽带、最新的滴灌技术、疟疾的现代诊断检测等现代技术提供能源，从而有可能以甚至数年前都不可行的方式推进人类福祉。

2012年世界各国代表将聚集在巴西里约热内卢举行联合国可持续发展大会，即里约+20 大会。里约+20 是一个重要机会，可借以采取新的决定性步骤动员支持清洁能源投资，重视寻求实际解决方案，将可持续发展的社会、经济、环境支柱更为均衡地置于决策的核心。在里约，我们必须确立增长、能源、供水、粮食安全、贫困、气候变化、生物多样性、健康、妇女赋权等事项的彼此关系。能源可以发挥带头作用。我敦促各国政府、民间社会、社区和私营部门的领导人作出行动的具体承诺，将这一愿景变为现实。世界各国领导人可通过正确的行动，改善亿万人民的生活。

许多国家的经济都在挣扎之中，此时，有人会说，可持续性是我们承受不起的一种奢侈。但事实恰恰相反：消耗自然资源就会消耗我们实现真正繁荣的机会。我们需要减少全球排放量，保护大自然的财富，增强世界上最脆弱群体的权能，推动低碳繁荣，造福全体民众。，没有洁净能源革命，这一切就都不可能实现。

可持续发展是21世纪的当务之急。保护我们的地球，助人脱困，推进经济增长，这些都是同一场斗争的不同方面。我们努力创造新的商业机会、新的市场机会、新的就业机会，为人类进步开辟新的前景。要实现上述任何一个目标，我们都离不开能源，都不能不普及可持续能源的供应。

蔡力坚 译

转自 新东方在线，点击阅读原文。