原文期刊：科学美国人 原文标题：We Need to Capture Carbon to Fight Climate Change
本文选自2018年8月1日《科学美国人》一的篇文章。作者指出，面对气候变化的严峻挑战，政府和企业应积极利用CCUS技术，捕获、利用、储存碳，完成减碳目标。 行文脉络：引出话题：应利用CCUS应对气候变化（第一、二段）——介绍CCUS的最新进展、必要性、益处（第三、四、五段）——CCUS面临的反对及作者对此的反驳（第六段）——提出建议（第七段）。
【原文】
I ①The conclusion of the Paris Agreement in 2015, in which almost every nation committed to reduce their carbon emissions, was supposed to be a turning point in the fight against climate change. ②But many countries have already fallen behind their goals, and the U.S. has now announced it will withdraw from the agreement. ③Meanwhile emissions worldwide continue to rise.
II ①The only way to make up ground is to aggressively pursue an approach that takes advantage of every possible strategy to reduce emissions. ②The usual suspects, such as wind and solar energy and hydropower, are part of this effort, but it must also include investing heavily in carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS)—a cohort of technologies that pull carbon dioxide from smokestacks, or even from the air, and convert it into useful materials or store it underground.
III ①Although CCUS has been opposed as too expensive and unproved, recent gains have made it far more effective. ②Improvements such as chemical compounds that are more efficient at latching onto carbon could drive the cost down from $100 per ton of captured carbon in 2016 to $20 per ton by 2025, according to a 2016 article in Science. ③Start-ups are also developing new tactics, among them the transformation of trapped carbon into fertilizer, which could spur further savings.
IV ①Without CCUS, the level of cuts needed to keep global warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit)—the upper limit allowed in the Paris Agreement—probably cannot be achieved, according to the International Energy Agency. ②By 2050 carbon capture and storage must provide at least 13 percent of
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the reductions needed to keep warming in check, the agency calculates.
V ①CCUS technologies can also help decarbonize emissions in heavy industry—including production of cement, refined metals and chemicals—which accounts for almost a quarter of U.S. emissions. ②In addition, direct carbon-removal technology—which captures and converts carbon dioxide from the air rather than from a smokestack—can offset emissions from industries that cannot readily implement other clean technology, such as agriculture.
VI ①The basic idea of carbon capture has faced a lot of opposition. ②Skepticism has come from climate deniers, who see it as a waste of money, and from passionate supporters of climate action, who fear that it would be used to justify continued reliance on fossil fuels. ③Both groups are ignoring the recent advances and the opportunity they present. ④By limiting investment in decarbonization, the world will miss a major avenue for reducing emissions both in the electricity sector and in a variety of industries. ⑤CCUS can also create jobs and profits from what was previously only a waste material by creating a larger economy around carbon.
VII ①For CCUS to succeed, the federal government must kick in funding for basic research and development and offer incentives such as tax breaks for carbon polluters who adopt the technology. ②The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to slash energy technology R&D, with the Department of Energy's CCUS R&D cut by as much as 76 percent in proposed budgets. ③But this funding must be protected.
【词汇短语】
1. withdraw /w?e'dr??/ v. 撤退；收回 2. make up ground 追上；赶上
3. *smokestack /'sm??kst?k/ n. 烟囱，烟窗 4. suspect /?s?spekt/ n. 嫌疑人
5. hydropower /'ha?dr?pa??/ n. 水力发电 6. utilization /,ju?t?la?'ze???n/ n. 利用；使用
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7. *cohort /'k??h??t/ n. 一群；队 8. latch onto 紧抓 9. start-up 初创企业 10. *Celsius /'sels??s/ n. 摄氏度
11. *Fahrenheit /'f?r?n'ha?t/ n. 华氏温度 12. decarbonize /di?'kɑ?b?na?z/ v. 脱去…的碳 13. avenue /'?v?nu/ n. 途径；手段 14. kick in 开始生效
15. *slash /sl??/ v. 大幅度裁减或削减 （注:标*号为超纲词） 【翻译点评】
I ①The conclusion of the Paris Agreement in 2015, in which almost every nation committed to reduce their carbon emissions, was supposed to be a turning point in the fight against climate change. ②But many countries have already fallen behind their goals, and the U.S. has now announced it will withdraw from the agreement. ③Meanwhile emissions worldwide continue to rise. 翻译：2015年通过的《巴黎协定》中，几乎每个国家都承诺减少碳排放，这本应成为应对气候变化的一个转折点。但许多国家早已落后于目标，美国现在宣布将退出协定。与此同时，全球温室气体排放持续上升。 点评：段I引出话题——《巴黎协定》的排碳目标VS黯淡的排碳现实。①《巴黎协定》本应成为气候变化的转折点。②③转折（But）指出目前黯淡的排碳现实。
II ①The only way to make up ground is to aggressively pursue an approach that takes advantage of every possible strategy to reduce emissions. ②The usual suspects, such as wind and solar energy and hydropower, are part of this effort, but it must also include investing heavily in carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS)—a cohort of technologies that pull carbon dioxide from smokestacks, or even from the air, and convert it into useful materials or store it underground. 翻译： 赶上目标的唯一途径是积极采取一种方法，利用一切可能策略减少排放。常规途径,如风能、太阳能和水力发电，是这一努力
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外刊阅读-我们需要“捕捉碳”来应对气候变化
