COP26 opened yesterday, with more than 120 world leaders gathered in Glasgow, UK. They will depart after a few days, leaving the complex negotiations to their representatives — mainly environment ministers or similarly senior officials. The talks are scheduled to end on Nov. 12.
For almost three decades, world governments have met nearly every year to forge a global response to the climate emergency. Under the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), every country on Earth is treaty-bound to “avoid dangerous climate change” and find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally in an equitable way.
“COP” stands for “conference of the parties” under the UNFCCC, and the annual meetings have swung between fractious and soporific, interspersed with moments of high drama and the occasional triumph (the Paris agreement in 2015) and disaster (Copenhagen in 2009).
Photo: Reuters 照片:路透
Why do we need a COP — don’t we already have the Paris agreement? Yes — under the landmark Paris agreement, signed in 2015, nations committed to holding global temperature rises to “well below” 2°C above pre-industrial levels, while “pursuing efforts” to limit heating to 1.5°C. Those goals are legally binding and enshrined in the treaty.
To meet those goals, countries also agreed on non-binding national targets to cut — known as “nationally determined contributions,” or NDCs. Everyone knew at Paris that the NDCs were inadequate, so the French built into the accord a “ratchet mechanism” by which countries would have to return to the table every five years with fresh commitments.
(The Guardian)
第二十六屆聯合國氣候變化大會於昨日揭幕,世界一百二十多位領導人現正齊聚英國格拉斯哥與會。他們將於數日後離開,後續複雜的談判則交由其代表進行,主要是環境部長或相關的高級官員。會議訂於十一月十二日結束。
近三十年來,世界各國政府幾乎每年都舉行會議,以制定因應氣候緊急狀態的全球措施。根據一九九二年「聯合國氣候變化綱要公約」(UNFCCC),地球上每個國家都受條約約束,以「避免危險的氣候變化」,且各國應以公平的方式設法減少全球的溫室氣體排放。
「COP」意為UNFCCC的「締約方會議」。其每年所舉辦的會議,有時劍拔弩張,有時令人昏昏欲睡,偶爾穿插戲劇性的時刻,有時獲致成功(例如二○一五年通過的巴黎協定),有時徹底失敗(如二○○九年在哥本哈根舉行的會議)。
為什麼我們需要UNFCCC締約方會議——不是已經有巴黎協定了嗎?是的——根據二○一五年所簽署的具有里程碑意義的巴黎協定,各國承諾將全球暖化控制在「遠低於」工業化前水平的攝氏兩度,同時「繼續努力」將暖化限制在攝氏一點五度以內。這些目標具有法律約束力,且已載入條約。
為了實現這些目標,各國還商定了不具約束力的國家減碳目標—稱為「國家自定貢獻」或NDC。在巴黎商議協定時,大家都知道NDC是不夠的,因此主辦會議的法國在協議中設立了「不倒退機制」,據此,各國必須每五年更新目標,重啟談判。
(台北時報林俐凱編譯)
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
It’s no secret that Japanese people have a deep affection for noodles. Like in the rest of East Asia, noodles are an important staple food, second only to rice. Japanese people have enjoyed noodles for over 1,000 years. The first noodles came from China and were introduced around 800 CE. As time passed, noodles in Japan not only became widespread but also developed some unique Japanese characteristics. The three most popular types of noodles in Japan are ramen, soba, and udon. Ramen, typically made from wheat flour, is usually thin and firm. The dough is kneaded and left to
Rice is an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. Many foods are made of rice, adding more variety to our cooking, such as rice cake, or “gui.” Wagui is made by steaming rice flour batter in a bowl. The term “gui” refers to a type of food made from rice, while “wa” refers to a bowl. The pronunciation of “gui” in Taiwanese Hokkien is similar to the word for “nobility” in Chinese, so it is common for people to prepare various types of gui, including wagui, as offerings to the gods or ancestors,. 米是台灣重要的主食,用米製成的食品十分多元,豐富我們的飲食,如米做成的「粿」。粿的意思是米做成的糕點,碗粿是將在來米漿倒入碗中蒸熟,因而得名。粿因為音同「貴」,因此碗粿等粿食常用作供品祭拜神明和祖先。 nobility (n.) 高貴,高尚;貴族 offering (n.) 供品 While Taiwan may not be
Continued from yesterday(延續自昨日) https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang As with many aspects of Japanese culture, there is etiquette to follow when you enjoy noodles. To fully experience noodles like a local on your next visit to Japan, consider these simple guidelines. First, be careful where you put your chopsticks. Don’t leave them sticking up in the broth or set them at the side of the bowl. When you have finished eating or if you’re taking a break, place them on the chopstick rest next to the bowl. Also, it is impolite to wave chopsticks around or bring them above mouth-level. Second, don’t take too