本文转自《McClatchy》发表的题为“White House will promote carbon capture technology in climate change fight”的报道。

作者：Michael Wilner

日期：2019.04.05

原文链接：https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/white-house/article228910509.html?tdsourcetag=s_pcqq_aiomsg

The White House will begin promoting carbon capture and storage technology, two senior administration officials told McClatchy on Friday, in a rare acknowledgment from the Trump administration of the dangers of rising carbon dioxide emissions.

两位高级政府官员周五告诉本报，白宫将开始推广碳捕获和封存技术，特朗普政府罕见地承认二氧化碳排放量上升的危险。

Their embrace of the emerging technology is part of a nascent strategy by the Trump administration to promote innovation over regulation as a means of fighting climate change, and comes amid a bipartisan call from senators for an increase in federal funding for carbon capture development.

他们对新兴技术的接受是特朗普政府推动创新而非监管作为应对气候变化的一种手段的新生战略的一部分，并且在参议员两党呼吁增加联邦资金用于碳捕获发展之际。

Carbon capture is a technology that seeks to capture the majority of carbon-dioxide emissions produced by large fuel plants before they reach the atmosphere.

碳捕获技术旨在捕获大型燃料电厂在到达大气层之前产生的大部分二氧化碳排放。

It has been referred to by its advocates as a “silver bullet” in the battle against global warming – and by detractors as an excuse from fossil fuel giants to justify the world’s continued reliance on natural gas.

它的拥护者称其为抗击全球变暖的“银弹” - 以批评者为借口，以化石燃料巨头为世界持续依赖天然气为理由。

One senior administration official said the president’s policy is a “realistic approach to promote energy innovation, including for nuclear energy, fossil fuels, and carbon capture technologies that allow us to provide affordable and reliable energy and a clean environment to our citizens.”

一位高级政府官员表示，总统的政策是“推动能源创新的现实方法，包括核能，化石燃料和碳捕获技术，这些技术使我们能够为我们的公民提供价格合理，可靠的能源和清洁的环境。”

The Trump administration has not discounted science claiming that human-made CO2 emissions are impacting the atmosphere, the official added.

这位官员补充说，特朗普政府并未对科学进行打折，声称人为的二氧化碳排放正在影响大气层。

President Donald Trump has been criticized by environmental groups for rolling back climate change regulations since taking office, for his embrace of the fossil fuel industry and his withdrawal from the Paris climate accords, an international agreement that set a worldwide target for emissions reductions.

自上任以来，环境组织批评环境组织批评气候变化法规，他对化石燃料行业的接受以及他退出巴黎气候协议，这是一项国际协议，旨在制定全球减排目标。

Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency scrapped an Obama-era policy requiring all newly constructed coal-fired power plants to incorporate carbon capture technology – an expensive hurdle for an industry competing against increasingly cheaper natural gases. The EPA decision was considered a wink and a nod to the coal community.

去年，环境保护局取消了奥巴马时代的政策，要求所有新建的燃煤发电厂采用碳捕集技术 - 这是一个与竞争对手日益便宜的天然气竞争的昂贵障碍。环保署的决定被认为是对煤炭界的眨眼和点头。

But some of the largest coal companies have recently come on board with the carbon capture technology. One energy company seeking to lower the cost of carbon capture, called Carbon Engineering, secured $68 million in private investments last month from fossil fuel giants such as Occidental, Chevron and BHP, a coal company.

但一些最大的煤炭公司最近加入了碳捕集技术。 一家寻求降低碳捕获成本的能源公司，名为Carbon Engineering，上个月从西方石油公司（Occidental），雪佛龙公司（Chevron）和煤炭公司必和必拓（BHP）这样的化石燃料巨头获得了6800万美元的私人投资。

“U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions fell 14 percent between 2005 and 2017, even as our economy has grown by 19 percent,” a second administration official said, confirming the administration’s endorsement of carbon capture technology. “This has been possible because of innovation and entrepreneurship that has allowed for the development and large-scale deployment of new, affordable, and cleaner technologies.”

“美国能源相关的二氧化碳排放量在2005年至2017年间下降了14％，但是我们的经济增长了19％，“第二位政府官员说，确认了政府对碳捕获技术的支持。 “这是有可能的，因为创新和创业能够促进新的，负担得起的，更清洁的技术的开发和大规模部署。”

Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly questioned the science behind climate change, and since November has considered establishing a presidential committee on climate security that would scrutinize the findings of the national climate assessment, an interagency report forecasting grave peril for a warming planet.

在整个总统竞选过程中，特朗普一再质疑气候变化背后的科学，自11月以来，已经考虑建立气候安全总统委员会，审查国家气候评估的结果，这是一份机构间报告，预测地球变暖将带来严重危险。

“I think something’s happening,” Trump told CBS’ 60 Minutes in October. “Something’s changing and it’ll change back again. I don’t think it’s a hoax, I think there’s probably a difference. But I don’t know that it’s man-made.”

“我认为正在发生一些事情，”特朗普在10月份向哥伦比亚广播公司的60分钟发表讲话。 “有些东西正在改变，它会再次改变。我不认为这是一个骗局，我认为可能存在差异。但我不知道它是人造的。“

But the White House decision to embrace carbon capture technology amounts to an affirmation that carbon dioxide emissions, created by the burning of fossil fuels, are taking their toll.

但白宫决定接受碳捕获技术，这相当于肯定了燃烧化石燃料造成的二氧化碳排放正在造成损失。

A bipartisan group of 12 senators, including four Republicans, this week sent a letter to appropriators requesting the “highest possible levels” of federal funding for carbon capture development.

一个由12名参议员组成的两党小组，其中包括四名共和党人，本周致函拨款人，要求为碳捕获发展提供“最高级别”联邦资金。

Also on Friday evening, John Barrasso of Wyoming, the Republican chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works who has led on this issue in Congress, scheduled a committee vote next week on a bill that would “support the use of carbon capture technology, including direct air capture.”

同样在星期五晚上，参议院环境与公共工程委员会主席怀俄明州的John Barrasso在国会领导这个问题，计划下周委员会投票支持一项“支持使用碳捕获技术”的法案，包括直接空中捕获。”

Republicans have grown increasingly vocal on the need for a climate change policy alternative to the Democrats’ Green New Deal, with allies of the president in both houses of Congress– Lindsey Graham of South Carolina in the Senate, and Matt Gaetz of Florida in the House– recently pushing legislation that characterizes the phenomenon as a national security threat.

共和党人越来越强烈要求采取气候变化政策替代民主党的绿色新政，国会两院的总统盟友 - 南卡罗来纳州参议院的Green New Deal，以及佛罗里达州众议院的Matt Gaetz  - 最近推动将这一现象定性为国家安全威胁的立法。

A refinery, including a gas flare flame that is part of normal plant operations, in Anacortes. TED S. WARREN  AP

炼油厂，包括在Anacortes中作为正常工厂运营一部分的气体火焰。

Michael Wilner：

Michael Wilner joined McClatchy as a White House correspondent in 2019. He previously served as Washington bureau chief for The Jerusalem Post, where he led coverage of the Iran nuclear talks, the Syrian refugee crisis and the 2016 US presidential campaign. Wilner holds degrees from Claremont McKenna College and Columbia University and is a native of New York City.

Michael Wilner于2019年加入McClatchy杂志社担任白宫记者。他之前曾担任华盛顿邮政局长，负责 Jerusalem邮报，在那里他领导了伊朗核谈判，叙利亚难民危机和2016年美国总统竞选活动。 Wilner拥有Claremont McKenna学院和哥伦比亚大学的学位，并且是纽约市人。