介绍:
Statement by Mr. Leonardo DiCaprio, United Nations Messenger of Peace, at the Opening of the High-level Signature Ceremony for the Paris Agreement
22 April 2016
Thank you, Mr. Secretary General, for the honor to address this body once more. And thanks to the distinguished climate leaders assembled here today who are ready to take action.
President Abraham Lincoln was also thinking of bold action 150 years ago when he said:
“The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present…As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.”
He was speaking before the U.S. Congress to confront the defining issue of his time – slavery.
Everyone knew it had to end, but no one had the political will to stop it. Remarkably, his words ring as true today when applied to the defining crisis of our time – climate change.
As a UN Messenger of Peace, I have traveled all over the world for the last two years, documenting how this crisis is changing the natural balance of our planet. I’ve seen cities like Beijing choked by industrial pollution, ancient Boreal forests in Canada that have been clear cut, and rainforests in Indonesia that have been incinerated. In India, I met farmers whose crops have literally been washed away by historic flooding. In America, I have witnessed unprecedented droughts in California and sea level rise flooding the streets of Miami. In Greenland and in the Arctic, I was astonished to see that ancient glaciers are rapidly disappearing well ahead of scientific predictions. All that I have seen and learned on my journey has absolutely terrified me.
There is no doubt in the world’s scientific community that this a direct result of human activity and the effects of climate change will become astronomically worse in the future.
I do not need to tell you these statistics. You know them better than I do, but more importantly, you know what will happen if this scourge is left unchecked. You know that climate change is happening faster than even the most pessimistic of scientists warned us decades ago. It’s become a runaway freight train bringing with it an impending disaster for all living things.
Now, think about the shame that each of us will carry when our children and grandchildren look back and realize that we had the means of stopping this devastation, but simply lacked the political will to do so.
Yes, we have achieved the Paris Agreement. More countries have come together here to sign this Agreement today than for any other cause in the history of humankind – and that is a reason for hope – but unfortunately, the evidence shows us that it will not be enough.
Our planet cannot be saved unless we leave fossil fuels in the ground where they belong. An upheaval and massive change is required right now – one that leads to a new collective consciousness, a new collective evolution of the human race, inspired and enabled by a sense of urgency from all of you.
We all know that reversing the course of climate change will not be easy, but the tools are in our hands, if we apply them before it is too late.
Renewable energy, fossil fuels and putting a price on carbon pollution are beginning to turn the tide. This transition is not only the right thing for our world, but it also makes clear economic sense, and is possible within our lifetime.
But it is now upon you to do what great leaders have always done: to lead, to inspire and empower as President Lincoln did in his time.
We can congratulate each other today, but it will mean absolutely nothing if you return to your countries and fail to push beyond the promises of this historic agreement. Now is the time for bold, unprecedented action.
My friends, look at the delegates around you. It is time to ask each other – which side of history will you be on?
As a citizen of our planet who has witnessed so much on this journey, I thank you all for everything you have done to lay the foundation of a solution to this crisis, but after 21 years of debates and conferences, it is time to declare no more talk, no more excuses, no more 10-year studies, no more allowing the fossil fuel companies to manipulate and dictate the science and policies that affect our future. This is the only body that can do what is needed.
All of you sitting in this very hall, the world is now watching. You’ll either be lauded by future generations, or vilified by them.
Lincoln’s words still resonate to all of us here today:
“We will be remembered in spite of ourselves…The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the last generation…We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of Earth.”
That is our charge now – you are the last, best hope of Earth. We ask you to protect it, or we and all living things we cherish are history.
Thank you very much.
Summary
disenthrall
[,disin'θrɔ:l] vt. 释放；解放 disenthrall ourselves
Boreal forest:
英 [ˈbɔ:ri:əl ˈfɔrist] 美 [ˈbɔriəl ˈfɔrɪst]
北方森林，北方针叶林，泰加林; 北方森林; 北部森林; 寒温带针叶林
The Boreal Forest extends across Alaska, Canada, northern Europe and Russia.
北方森林贯穿了阿拉斯加、加拿大、北欧和俄罗斯。
incinerate
incinerate
英 [ ɪnˈsɪnəreɪt ] 美 [ ɪnˈsɪnəˌret ]
vi.
把…烧成灰烬
vt.
焚化，火葬
This monstrous flare would undoubtedly incinerate all life on the surface of the earth.
这种难以置信的突然爆发无疑会把地球表面的一切生命烧成灰烬.
astronomically
[,æstrə'nɔmikli] adv. 天文学上地；宇航学地；天体地
scourge
英 [skɜːdʒ] 美 [skɝdʒ]
vt. 鞭打；蹂躏；严斥；痛斥
n. 鞭；灾祸；鞭子；苦难的根源
The ample evidence presented enables us to reasonably conclude that the scourgeof AIDS will be brought under control in the foreseeable future . 跟读
提出的充分证据使我们能够合理地得出这样的结论：艾滋病的祸害在可预见的将来就能得到控制。
Paris Agreement.
dictate
英 [dɪk'teɪt] 美 ['dɪktet]
vt. 命令；口述；使听写
vi. 口述；听写
n. 命令；指示
What right has one country to dictate the environmental standards of another?
一个国家有什么权利规定另一个国家的环境标准？
What gives them the right to dictate to us what we should eat?
是什么给他们权利来规定我们该吃什么？
laud
英 [lɔːd] 美 [lɔd]
vt. 赞美；称赞
n. 赞美；称赞；颂歌
n. (Laud)人名；(英、瑞典)劳德
And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. 跟读
又说，外邦阿，你们当赞美主。万民哪，你们都当颂赞他。
vilify
vilify 英 ['vɪlɪfaɪ] 美 ['vɪlɪfaɪ] vt. 诽谤；中伤；轻视；贬低
Why is he always trying to vilify my reputation?
为什么他总是想方设法毁坏我的名誉?
fiery
fiery 英 ['faɪərɪ] 美 ['faɪəri]
adj. 热烈的，炽烈的；暴躁的；燃烧般的
1.He got up in front of the huge crowd and made a moving and fiery speech. 跟读
他挺身而出， 在大庭广众面前， 慷慨激昂地讲了一通。
2."If they want to play games with us, I believe in a few ways we can turn Iraq into afiery battlefield," he said. 跟读
“如果他们想跟我们玩游戏，我相信我们可以用很多方式把伊拉克变成一个激烈的战场，”他说道。
1.
I’ve seen cities like Beijing choked by industrial pollution, ancient Boreal forests in Canada that have been clear cut, and rainforests in Indonesia that have been incinerated.
2.
Renewable energy, fossil fuels and putting a price on carbon pollution are beginning to turn the tide(扭转趋势).
3.
All of you sitting in this very hall, the world is now watching. You’ll either be lauded by future generations, or vilified by them.
4.
“We will be remembered in spite of ourselves…The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the last generation…We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of Earth.”
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