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The debate over the ethics of mining the earth’s last untouched frontier is growing in both intensity and consequence.
关于在地球上最后一块未开发的边远之地开矿是否合乎伦理的争论，无论是激烈程度还是后果都在加剧。
It pits biologist against geologist, conservationist against environmentalist, and manufacturer against supplier in a world grappling with a paradox—one that will define our path to a future free of fossil fuels:
它让生物学家与地质学家、保护主义者与环境主义者、制造商与供应商反目成仇，并陷入了一个悖论——这个悖论将决定我们走向摆脱化石燃料的未来的道路:
sustainable energy that will run cleaner but also require metals and resources whose extraction will both contribute to global warming and impact biodiversity.
可持续能源的运行会更清洁，但同时也需要金属和资源，这些金属和资源的开采将加剧全球变暖并影响生物多样性。
So as nations commit to lower greenhouse-gas emissions, the conflict is no longer between fossil-fuel firms and clean-energy proponents, but rather over what ecosystems we are willing to sacrifice in the process.
因此，随着各国承诺降低温室气体排放，冲突不再是化石燃料公司和清洁能源支持者之间的冲突，而是在这个过程中我们愿意牺牲生态系统的哪一部分。
History is littered with stories of well-intended environmental interventions that have gone catastrophically wrong;
历史上这样的例子屡见不鲜：本意良好的环境干预，却酿成了灾难性的错误；
for example, South American cane toads introduced into Australia in the 1930s first failed to control beetles attacking sugarcane, then spread unchecked across the continent, poisoning wildlife and pets.
例如，20世纪30年代引入澳大利亚的南美蔗蟾蜍，首先它并未能控制住甲虫攻击甘蔗，其次这种生物还在整个大陆肆无忌惮地传播，毒害野生动物和宠物。
Nevertheless, a radical embrace of electric vehicles will be necessary to limit global warming to less than 1.5°C above preindustrial levels, the goal of the Paris Agreement.
然而，要想将全球变暖控制在比工业化前高出1.5摄氏度的范围以内(这是《巴黎协定》的目标)，就必须全面转向电动汽车。
But according to a May 2021 report by the International Energy Agency (IEA)—the Paris-based intergovernmental organization that helps shape global energy policies—the world isn’t mining enough of the minerals needed to make the batteries that will power that clean-energy future.
但根据国际能源署(IEA) 2021年5月的一份报告，世界没有开采足够的矿物质来生产为清洁能源未来提供动力的电池。IEA总部位于巴黎，是帮助制定全球能源政策的政府间组织。
Demand for the metals in electric vehicles alone could grow by more than 30 times from 2020 to 2040, say the report’s authors.
该报告的作者表示，从2020年到2040年，仅电动汽车对金属的需求就可能增长30倍以上。
“If supply chains can’t meet skyrocketing demand, mineral shortages could mean clean-energy shortages,” the report argues.
报告指出:“如果供应链无法满足飞涨的需求，那么矿产短缺可能意味着清洁能源的短缺。”
Fears of such shortages have countries and companies racing to secure the supplies needed for the coming energy transition.
对这种短缺的担忧，促使各国和企业竞相确保即将到来的能源转型所需的矿产供应。
By most assessments, existing mines on land could supply the needed minerals.
根据大多数评估，土地上的现有矿山能提供足够的所需矿物。
But after decades of exploitation, the quality of the ore is going down while the energy required to quarry and refine it is going up.
但经过几十年的开采，矿石的质量正在下降，而采掘和提炼所需的能源却在上升。
Meanwhile, the efforts to extract cobalt, which is mined almost exclusively in the Democratic Republic of Congo, are dogged by persistent accounts of human-rights and environmental abuses.
与此同时，钴矿的开采几乎只在刚果民主共和国境内进行，但钴矿开采一直受到侵犯人权和环境困扰的争议。
According to deep-ocean-mining proponents, the seabed nodules could provide most of the minerals the world needs, with minimal impact.
深海采矿的支持者认为，海底结核可以提供世界所需的大部分矿物，而且影响很小。
译文由可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载。
