气候变化是科学中一个重要的研究领域。然而，与所有科学一样，它并不是精确的科学。人们对气候科学的理解也在不断变化。气候变化并不是新鲜事物，过去一直存在气候变化，将来也将一直存在。被称为冰河时代的时期就是一个例子，那是全球气温长期下降的一段时期。

Climatic change is an important field of study in science. However, as with all sciences, it is not an exact science. The understanding of the climatic sciences is always changing. Climate change is not new, there has always been climate change, and there will always be climate change. The period known as the Ice Age, which was a long-term period of reduction in global temperatures is an example of this.

全球变暖和气候变化指的是全球平均气温的上升。人们认为，自然事件和人类活动都在促成全球平均气温的上升，这是当前相当有争议的领域。这主要是由温室效应的增强造成的，即大气中某些气体吸收能量，导致地球气温升高，二氧化碳（CO2）等气体就是其中之一。此次变暖时期also与工业革命同时发生，工业革命期间人类活动排放的二氧化碳最多，因此许多人（如艾尔·戈尔）将二氧化碳浓度的上升与气温的上升相比较，并得出结论：地球大气中二氧化碳的增加是气温上升的决定性因素。二氧化碳与气温之间的关联被视为全球变暖的主要原因，但这一观点并非定论，而且用于得出这一结论的样本也存在若干问题。

Global warming and climate change refer to an increase in average global temperatures. Natural events and human activities are believed to be contributing to the increase in average global temperatures – this is the area of current considerable debate. This is caused primarily by increases in the greenhouse which is the rise in temperature on Earth as certain gases in the atmosphere trap energy gases such as Carbon Dioxide (CO2). This latest warming period has also coincided with the Industrial Revolution, which saw the greatest output of human induced CO2, leading many, like Al Gore, to compare the rise in CO2 levels with the rise in temperatures, drawing a conclusion that the rise in CO2 in the earth’s atmosphere was the determining factor in the rise in temperatures. The CO2-temperature connection is considered the dominant cause for global warming, however this view is not conclusive and there is a number of issues with the samples used for this conclusion.

每隔几年，联合国政府间气候变化专门委员会（IPCC）的顶尖气候科学家都会发布重要报告，详细介绍人们在理解气候变化方面取得的进展。从一开始，他们就建议减少排放。该机构由来自世界各地的数百名气候科学家组成。2007年1月初，IPCC的第四次重要报告总结说，由于科学认识的提高，他们比以往更加确信气候变化是由人类活动引起的：“自第三次评估报告（TAR）以来，人为变暖和降温因素对气候影响的认识有所提高，因此非常有把握地认为，自1750年以来人类活动对全球平均净效应是变暖。”他们对“非常有把握”和“很可能”的定义是有90%的可能性是正确的（他们2001年的报告所声称的确定性为66%）。

Every few years, leading climate scientists at the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have released major reports detailing the progress in understanding climate change. From the outset they have recommended that there be emission reductions. This body is comprised of hundreds of climate scientists from around the world. At the beginning of January 2007, the IPCC’s fourth major report summarised that they were even more certain than before of human-induced climate change because of better scientific understanding; ‘The understanding of anthropogenic warming and cooling influences on climate has improved since the Third Assessment Report (TAR), leading to very high confidence that the globally averaged net effect of human activities since 1750 has been one of warming.’ Their definition of “very high confidence” and “very likely” is a 90% chance of being correct (their 2001 report claimed a 66% certainty).

从历史排放来看，工业化国家累计贡献了迄今大气中约80%的二氧化碳积累。自1950年以来，美国累计排放了约507亿吨碳，而中国的人口是美国的4.6倍……

In terms of historical emissions, industrialised countries account for around 80% of the carbon dioxide build-up in the atmosphere to date. Since 1950, the US has emitted a cumulative total of roughly 50.7 billion tons of carbon, while China (4.6 times more populous)

……而印度的人口是其3.5倍，其排放量却分别仅为157亿吨和42亿吨。每年全球工业二氧化碳排放量的60%以上来自工业化国家，而这些国家的人口仅占世界总人口的约20%。

and India (3.5 times more populous) have emitted only 15.7 and 4.2 billion tons respectively. Annually, more than 60% of global industrial carbon dioxide emissions originate in industrialized countries, where only about 20% of the world’s population resides.

发达国家排放增长的大部分源于工业革命时期的快速工业化。美国拥有14万亿美元的经济规模，是世界上最大的污染国，并且一直阻碍任何关于减排目标的协议达成。减少排放意味着西方工业需要减少生产，这将导致西方经济萎缩而非增长。在资本主义中，减少消费被视为"Shirk"（沙尔克，即以物为本的背离之举）。同样，发达国家的化石燃料消费速度相对于世界其他地区也极高。不可再生资源的枯竭和环境破坏主要是由美国的消费模式造成的。美国的化石燃料消费量远超全球平均水平的五倍以上。

Much of the growth in emissions in the developed world stem from rapid industrialisation from the industrial revolution era. The US with its $14 trillion economy is the world’s largest polluter and has acted as an obstacle to any agreement on emission reduction targets. Reducing emissions would mean industry in the West would need to produce less – this would lead to economies in the West shrinking rather than growing. To reduce consumption is considered ‘Shirk’ in Capitalism. By the same token, the rate of consumption of fossil fuels in developed countries is also extremely high relative to the rest of the world. The depletion of nonrenewable resources and environmental destruction is primarily caused by the consumption patterns of the US. US consumption of fossil fuels is well over five times the global average.

全球变暖是西方快速工业化的结果，其唯一目的是追逐利润。尽管已有能够发展清洁、低排放产业的技术，但这些技术成本高昂，因此至今无法进入主流市场。

Global warming is the result of rapid industrialisation from the West with the sole concern of profit making. Although there exists technologies that allow the development of clean low-emission industries, their costs are high and as a result have been unable to break into the mainstream market.

中国和印度直到最近二十年才经历了快速发展，而全球变暖在此之前就已经相当严重。然而，美国却持续指责中国和印度发展过快，试图借此遏制这两个国家的发展，这是这个世界超级大国的一种企图。

China and India have only in the last 20 years seen rapid development, global warming was already high prior to that. However, the US continues to blame China and India for developing too quickly, in an attempt by the world superpower to stifle their development.