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Amidst the chaos, negotiations and counter protests surrounding COP26 in early November arose promises to be better in terms of emissions and environmental destruction.
在混乱中，11月初召开的第26届联合国气候变化大会的谈判和反抗议活动承诺在排放和环境破坏方面做得更好。
Hundreds of countries pledge to halt deforestation by 2030 while leaders across the world vowed to reach net-zero emissions targets by certain dates.
数百个国家承诺到2030年停止砍伐森林，世界各国领导人誓言要在一定日期前达到净零排放目标。
In the case of india, prime minister Modi shocked the gathered negotiators with an ambitious pledge to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070 while the United Kingdom has championed a net-zero by 2050 plan.
以印度为例，印度总理莫迪雄心勃勃地承诺到2070年实现净零排放，震惊了参加此次会议的谈判代表，而英国则倡导到2050年实现净零排放的计划。
The list of net-zero targets goes on but there's a problem.
净零目标的清单还在继续，但有一个问题。
Net-zero emissions can mean vastly different scenarios depending on the context.
净零排放可能意味着截然不同的情景，这取决于具体情况。
Theoretically, India, the UK or even fossil fuel companies that set net-zero emissions targets can continue spewing out greenhouse gases under the claim that future carbon capture technologies will make up for all of their emissions.
从理论上讲，设定净零排放目标的印度、英国甚至化石燃料公司声称未来的碳捕获技术将弥补它们的所有排放，因此它们可以继续排放温室气体。
So today we unpack the implications of net-zero pledges.
因此，今天我们来解开净零承诺的含义。
What they mean? Whether they're effective tools and whether they might actually be doing more harm than good.
它们是什么意思？它们是不是有效的工具，它们是否真的弊大于利。
A decade ago, an idea was brewing one that was meant to encapsulate the dual task of simultaneously reducing emissions and capturing greenhouse gases out of the air.
十年前，人们酝酿了一个想法，这个想法旨在概括同时减少排放和捕获空气中的温室气体的双重任务。
The concept of net-zero climate targets took root quickly during the Paris Climate Negotiations.
在巴黎气候谈判期间，净零气候目标的概念迅速扎根。
Net-zero became the new climate buzz phrase for political and corporate leaders alike.
“净零”成为政界和企业界领袖的新气候流行语。
In theory, a net-zero strategy is a promising development.
从理论上讲，净零战略是一个很有希望的发展方向。
When approached correctly, Professor of economics Matthew Potts and PHD candidate Oliver Miltenberger write that for a country or corporation to achieve net-zero emissions, it must identify and report all emissions it is responsible for creating,
经济学教授马修·波茨和博士生奥利弗·米尔滕伯格写道，如果方法正确，一个国家或公司要实现净零排放，就必须确定并报告其产生的所有排放，
it then reduces them as much as possible, and then--if it still has emissions it cannot reduce--it invests in projects that either prevent emissions elsewhere or pull carbon out of the air to reach a "net-zero" balance on paper.
然后尽可能地减少排放，然后，如果它仍然有无法减少的排放——它投资于一些项目，这些项目要么防止其他地方的排放，要么将碳从空气中去除，以达到名义上的“净零”平衡。
In short, the ideal path towards a net-zero target must foreground emissions reductions and then when all options for reductions are exhausted, carbon sequestration techniques can be used as a last resort.
简而言之，实现净零目标的理想道路必须是减排，然后当减排的所有选择都用尽时，碳封存技术可以作为最后的手段。
The problem with net-zero goals, however, is that there is no standard.
然而，净零目标的问题是没有标准。
One company may not even reduce its emissions at all and rely on future carbon capture technologies while a country might heavily reduce greenhouse gas output and only supplement with carbon negative options at the way.
一家公司甚至可能根本不会减少排放，而是依赖于未来的碳捕获技术，而一个国家可能会大幅减少温室气体排放，只会在方式上辅以碳负面选择。
In most cases, however, net-zero climate targets are just a buzz phrase for procrastinating until the very last second or in the words of the satirical government ad by the YouTube channel, the Juice Media.
然而，在大多数情况下，“净零”气候目标只是一个流行语，指的是拖延到最后一秒，或者用YouTube频道“果汁媒体”（Juice Media）的讽刺政府广告的话说。
Net-zero by 2050 means that instead of being honest this decade by taking this path we leave the being honest part to the last minute by taking that path instead.
到2050年实现“净零”意味着，在这十年里，我们不是通过走这条路来做到诚实，而是通过走这条路来把诚实的部分留到最后一刻。
Because net-zero can mean so many things, countries and corporations use these targets to continue polluting and turning a profit on the bet that some massive carbon capture infrastructure will suck up their emissions at the 11th hour.
因为“净零”可能意味着很多事情，国家和公司利用这些目标继续污染和盈利，押注于一些大规模的碳捕获基础设施将在最后一刻吸收他们的排放。
Net-zero is yet another procrastination tactic, plain and simple.
“净零”是另一种拖延策略，简单明了。
And who better but oil and gas giant BP to show us why net zero is a scam.
除了石油和天然气巨头英国石油公司（BP），还有谁能更好地向我们展示为什么“净零”是一个骗局。
In February of 2020, as COVID-19 began to shake the world, the CEO of BP stepped up onto a podium surrounded by press and announced something seemingly monumental.
2020年2月，当新冠疫情开始撼动世界时，英国石油公司的首席执行官走上了被媒体包围的讲台，宣布了一件看似意义深远的的事情。
The fossil fuel giant BP would achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
化石燃料巨头英国石油公司将在2050年实现净零排放。
At first glance, this sounds extremely promising.
乍一看，这听起来非常有希望。
A major oil company was going to rid themselves of fossil fuels.
一家大型石油公司打算放弃化石燃料。
For those who remembered BP's greenwashed beyond petroleum campaign in the early 2000s, however, this felt like deja vu.
然而，对于那些还记得英国石油公司在21世纪初发起的除了石油之外的环保运动的人来说，这感觉似曾相识。
Much like two decades ago, BP's new green initiative seems to be green in words only.
就像20年前一样，英国石油公司的新绿色倡议似乎只是口头上的绿色。
A look behind the oil company's new eco-drenched slogans and flashy green graphics reveals very little has changed in their business practices.
看看这家石油公司新的环保口号和华而不实的绿色图标，就会发现他们的商业行为几乎没有什么改变。
First of all, their net-zero claims only apply to direct emissions caused by drilling and processing oil and gas and not from consumer side emissions of their product like car exhaust.
首先，他们声称的净零排放只适用于石油和天然气钻探和加工过程中产生的直接排放，而不适用于他们产品的消费者侧的排放，如汽车尾气。
This means that BP could claim zero emissions by completely reducing their emissions from operations without even considering the polluting destruction of their gasoline or natural gas.
这意味着，英国石油公司可以通过完全减少他们的作业排放来宣称零排放，而无需考虑汽油或天然气的污染破坏。
But the thing is BP isn't even reducing the emissions of their infrastructure and refineries.
但问题是，英国石油公司甚至没有减少其基础设施和炼油厂的排放。
Under the label of net-zero, BP can continue emitting as long as it offsets those emissions with massive tree planting operations that are often rife with complications or some future carbon sequestration technology that is yet to be tested at scale.
在净零排放的标签下，英国石油公司可以继续排放，只要它通过大规模的植树作业或者一些未来的碳封存技术来抵消这些排放，而植树作业往往充满了复杂的情况，碳封存技术则尚未进行规模测试。
In theory, this means that BP can continue business as usual practices up until 2049 and then in the last year try to suck up all the emissions it has created by planting trees and using currently unrealized carbon capture technologies.
从理论上讲，这意味着英国石油公司可以一如既往地经营到2049年，然后在最后一年试图通过植树和使用目前尚未实现的碳捕获技术来吸收它产生的所有排放。
What's more likely, however, is that when 2049 hits, BP will just push the target further into the future and in doing so, lull us further into inaction.
然而，更有可能的是，当2049年到来时，英国石油公司只会把目标推到更远的未来，这样做会让我们进一步陷入无所作为的境地。
To add insult to injury, BP's pledge excludes more than 40 percent of its oil production and 15 of its gas production.
雪上加霜的是，英国石油公司的承诺不包括其逾40%的石油产量和15%的天然气产量。
A report from Inside Climate News reveals that the BP pledge would only cut the emissions intensity of their products by less than 30 percent.
来自Inside Climate News的一份报告显示，英国石油公司承诺只会将他们产品的排放强度降低不到30%。
But even here BP is using wordplay to disguise inaction.
但即使在这一点上，英国石油公司也在用文字游戏来掩饰自己的不作为。
