“低碳生活”的英语表达

关注“低碳生活”，学习英语表达 随着联合国气候变化框架公约第 15 次缔约方会议暨京都议定书第五次缔 约方会议（联合国气候变化大会，UN Climate Change Conference）于 12 月 7 日在 丹麦首都哥本哈根召开，“低碳 ”顿时成为闪亮登场，成为媒体高频词语，同时也成为今 年最受关注的流行词语。与此同时，以“低碳经济” 为先导，“ 碳足迹”、“低碳技术”、“低 碳发展” 、“ 低碳生活方式 ”、“ 低碳社会” 、“低碳城市” 、 “低碳世界” 等一系列新概念、新 政策应运而生，成为人们耳熟能详的流行语。 1 低碳经济，即 low-carbon economy。网络百科全书维基百科收录有 low-carbon economy 词条，其篇首第一句话如下：A Low-Carbon Economy (LCE) or Low-Fossil- Fuel Economy (LFFE) is a concept that refers to an economy which has a minimal output of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the biosphere, but specifically refers to the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.值得说明的是，虽然目前网络搜索结果显示， “低碳”的英文有的写成 low carbon，有的写成 low-carbon，但总体上说还是使用连字 符号的居多，如美联社 12 月 7 日关于哥本哈根联合国气候变化大会召开的新闻报道中 有这么一句话：On the sidelines, climate activists competed for attention to their campaigns on deforestation, clean energy and low-carbon growth。 2 碳足迹，即 carbon footprint。简单地说，碳足迹是用来衡量我们在日常生活中消 耗的二氧化碳的一种方式。无论是开车上班、乘飞机旅行，还是使用电灯、电脑，我 们都消耗石油、煤和天然气等化石燃料。这些化石燃料在燃烧时，会排放出诸如二氧 化碳之类导致地球变暖的温室气体。对于 carbon footprint，维基百科有如下定义：A carbon footprint is “the total set of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an organization, event or product“. For simplicity of reporting, it is often expressed in terms of the amount of carbon dioxide, or its equivalent of other GHGs, emitted. 相关 表达见如下例句：A new purpose-built office complex that will offer eco-friendly accommodation across 66,250 square feet is under construction in Wales. It is reported that the Cardiff Waterside project, entitled 3 Assembly Square, forms part of a 140 million construction project and will aim to offer business in the area an environment that has a lower carbon footprint than traditional office space. 上述句 子的背景是，英国政府成立了一个 The Low Carbon Building Programme (LCBP)，即 低碳建筑计划，维基百科解释说，LCBP is a Government programme in the United Kingdom administered by BERR (formerly the DTI). It offers grants towards the cost of installing domestic microgeneration technologies and larger scale distributed generation installations for public buildings and businesses, provided energy conservation standards are also met. 3 低碳技术，即 low-carbon technology，这是发展低碳经济，倡导低碳生活的关键 之关键，相关例句如下：The Carbon Trust today launched a new 10m pounds low carbon technology investment joint venture to help UK companies develop new low carbon technologies in China. The new joint venture is a partnership with the Carbon Trust and the China Energy Conservation Investment Corporation (CECIC) to develop and deploy low carbon technologies in China.专家指出，低碳技术将成 为国家核心竞争力的一个标志谁掌握了先进的低碳技术，谁就拥有了核心竞争力。 低碳技术的面很广，大的技术类型包括节能技术、无碳和低碳能源技术、二氧化碳捕 捉与埋存技术，还包括人类可以利用、可以展望到的低碳技术，如核能、风能、太阳 能、生物质能、二氧化碳捕捉埋存等相关技术，其中的关键词就是低碳能源（low- carbon energy），如 The world will need to spend an additional $10.5 trillion in the next two decades on energy efficiency and low-carbon energy to avoid runaway climate change, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA)。 4 低碳发展，即 low-carbon development/growth，经济发展的一种全新概念与模式。 请看如下句子：China has issued a report saying the country is expected to realize by 2050 a low carbon development, featuring low energy demand and carbon dioxide output. 5 低碳生活方式，即 low-carbon lifestyle，检索发现，这一词语已成为网络新宠， 这是因为我国的大都市已经诞生了“低碳一族” ，他们每天使用传统的发条闹钟，取代电 子闹钟；在午休和下班后关掉电脑和平板显示器；一旦不用电灯、空调，随手关掉； 手机一旦充电完成，立即拔掉充电插头；选择晾晒衣物，避免使用滚筒式干衣机；用 在附近公园中的慢跑取代在跑步机上的 45 分钟锻炼；用节能灯替换 60 瓦的灯泡；不 开汽车改骑自行车简而言之，“低碳生活” 方式可以理解为减低二氧化碳的排放，就 是低能量、低消耗、低开支的生活方式。而“低碳一族”正以自己生活细节的改变证明： 气候变化已经不再只是环保主义者、政府官员和专家学者关心的问题，而是与我们每 个人息息相关。在提倡健康生活已成潮流的今天，“低碳生活”不再只是一种理想，更是 一种值得期待的新的生活方式！相关英语表达见如下例句：（1）A one-year carbon emission reduction program proposed by Chinas Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) was started here Wednesday, on World Earth Day, to encourage citizens nationwide to adjust their lifestyle and live a “low-carbon“ lifestyle. A low- carbon lifestyle covers many aspects of modern life, such as transportation, home heating, and holiday travel, which can be conducted in a way that gives the maximum reduction of personal carbon emissions. /（2）As the Copenhagen Climate Conference is drawing near, more and more debate about low-carbon lifestyle come forth. /（ 3）Just this year, the low-carbon lifestyle, or Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS), suddenly became trendy in China, particularly among young urbanites, Lin said. 与“低碳生活方式 ”相关的说法还有“低碳生活”，即 low-carbon life，相关搭配就是 lead a low-carbon life，如 /网站就专 门介绍各种低碳生活的小贴士。因为“低碳经济” 提出的大背景是全球气候变暖对人类生 存和发展的严峻挑战，因此，“低碳生活方式” 还可以表达为 climate-friendly lifestyles，见 /page.cfm?tagID=20927 网站，该网站介绍了低碳生 活的三大贴士（Tips for a Healthy, Low-Carbon Life），有兴趣的读者不妨一读。 根据上述概念，我们不难理解，一个提倡导低碳经济的社会就是“低碳社会”（low- carbon society），同理就有“低碳社区” ，“低碳城市”和“低碳世界” ，即 low carbon community, low-carbon city 和 low-carbon world。因为在资源日益短缺、生态环 境受到挑战的今天，发展低碳经济、倡导低碳生活、建设低碳城市正在成为国际上普 遍认同的经济社会发展模式。其他说法还有“低碳开发区”，即 low carbon development zone，如下述例句：One example of this is the Low Carbon Development Zones being discussed by the EU and China. T