This is an ad from a 2008 climate awareness campaign featuring US senators and nemeses Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich.

这是2008年气候意识活动中的一则广告，里面有美国参议员兼死对头南希-佩洛西和纽特-金里奇。

Pelosi, the current Democratic Speaker of the House, and Gingrich, a former speaker of the house for republicans, sat down on a couch in front of the halls of congress and claimed that although they "don't always see eye-to-eye" they did "agree that our country must take action to address climate change."

现任民主党众议院议长佩洛西和前共和党众议院议长金里奇坐在国会大厅前的沙发上，声称尽管他们 “并不总是意见一致”，但他们确实“同意我们的国家必须采取行动应对气候变化”。

In the midst of the crushing political gridlock of the time, two power brokers of American politics found some consensus on climate change.

在当时令人沮丧的政治僵局中，美国政治的两个权力经纪人在气候变化方面找到了一些共识。

But, this consensus on climate change and environmentalism across the political spectrum isn't new.

但是，这种关于气候变化和环保主义的政治光谱的共识并不新鲜。

From Nixon, "we can make 1972 the best year ever for environmental progress," to Bush, "human activities are changing the atmosphere," to Clinton, "global climate change clearly is one of the most important of those challenges," the US has often painted itself as leaders in the quest to address environmental destruction.

从尼克松的“我们可以使1972年成为环境发展有史以来最好的一年”到布什的“人类活动正在改变大气”，再到克林顿的“全球气候变化显然是最重要的挑战之一”，美国经常把自己描绘成寻求解决环境破坏的领导者。

And yet, despite impassioned speeches from political figureheads and some consensus across 50 years, the US has few results to show for it.

然而，尽管政治人物发表了慷慨激昂的演讲，并且在50年里达成了一些共识，但美国却没有什么成果可言。

Instead, the US has propped up fossil fuel giants, watered down global climate agreements, and failed to pass any ambitious climate legislation that adequately addresses the scope of the crisis.

相反，美国支持化石燃料巨头，淡化全球气候协议，并未能通过任何雄心勃勃的气候立法来充分解决危机的范围。

And today, we are still seeing the same idealization of American climate leadership with the Biden administration: "The United States is not only back at the table, but hopefully leading by the power of our example."

今天，我们仍然看到拜登政府对美国气候领导力的这种理想化更多：“美国不仅回到了谈判桌前，而且希望以我们的榜样力量来领导。”

But of course, the country's historic and current actions tell a different story.

但当然，这个国家的历史和当前的行动告诉我们一个不同的故事。

Here's why the US never was and never will be a climate leader.

这就是为什么美国过去和将来都不会成为气候领袖。

After four years of outright denial and war on climate action during the Trump presidency, some hoped that Biden's inauguration might provide at least some much-needed relief and momentum for the climate justice movement.

在特朗普担任总统期间，经过四年的公然否认和对气候行动的战争，一些人希望拜登的就职典礼至少可以为气候正义运动提供一些亟需的缓解和动力。

But for anyone paying attention to the federal government's track record on climate change over the 34 last years since climate scientist James Hansen laid out the threat we faced in the halls of Capitol building, they might have realized that there is very little chance of Biden sharply cutting emissions by 57% by 2030--the only emissions path the US can take if it is to do its part in staying within 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming.

但是，对于关注联邦政府自气候科学家詹姆斯-汉森在国会大厦的大厅里提出我们所面临的威胁以来的34年里在气候变化方面的记录的人来说，他们可能已经意识到，拜登在2030年前大幅削减57%的排放量的可能性很小——如果美国要在保持1.5°C的变暖范围内尽自己的一份力量，这是唯一可以采取的排放途径。

That's because ever since the industrial revolution, the United States has been the king of fossil fuel emissions.

那是因为自工业革命以来，美国一直是化石燃料的排放大国。

But it wasn't until the mid-1970s that governing bodies really started to do anything about climate change.

但直到20世纪70年代中期，管理机构才真正开始对气候变化采取任何行动。

Under the Nixon administration the Environmental Protection Agency and a slew of environmental protection acts were quickly established to crack down on flagrant pollution.

在尼克松政府的领导下，环境保护局和一系列的环境保护法案被迅速建立起来，以打击公然的污染。

But unfortunately that momentum was quickly lost under the neoliberal backlash of the Reagan Era.

但不幸的是，这一势头在里根时代的新自由主义反弹下迅速丧失。

The EPA was stripped of authority and defunded, and polluters were left unenforced under the banner of deregulation.

环保局被剥夺了权力和资金，在放松管制的旗帜下，污染者没有被强制执行。

It wasn't until the Clinton administration, under the strong recommendations by climate scientists, that White House committed the country to lowering greenhouse gas emissions to 1990s levels by 2000.

直到克林顿政府，在气候科学家的强烈建议下，白宫承诺到2000年将国家的温室气体排放降低到1990年代的水平。

Just a quick look at the numbers reveals how deeply Clinton's initiative failed.

只要看一下数字，就会发现克林顿的倡议非常失败。

Again and again, Congress and the White House have attempted to pass climate legislation, from the 2003 cap and trade climate stewardship act to the American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009, and most every time they've been stuffed or watered down to the point of ineffectiveness.

国会和白宫一次又一次地试图通过气候立法，从2003年的上限和贸易气候管理法案到2009年的美国清洁能源领导法案，每次都被安排得满满的，或者被冲淡到无效的地步。

And now in 2022, almost two years into Biden's presidency, there is still little to show in terms of US climate action.

而现在到了2022年，拜登担任总统已经快两年了，美国的气候行动仍然没有什么进展。