紐時賞析／將嚴重打擊燃煤電廠 美環保署要求2039前減90%溫室氣體汙染

美國環境保護署的法規，要求美國燃煤電廠在2039年前，減少90%溫室氣體污染。美聯社

E.P.A. Rule Severely Limits Emissions From Coal Plants

美國環保署從嚴限制燃煤電廠污染

The Biden administration on Thursday placed the final cornerstone of its plan to tackle climate change: a regulation that would force the nation’s coal-fired power plants to virtually eliminate the planet-warming pollution they release into the air or shut down.

拜登政府週四爲其應對氣候變遷計劃奠定最後一塊基石：一項法規將迫使該國燃煤電廠實質上消除他們釋放到空氣中的全球暖化污染物，否則就要關閉。

The regulation from the Environmental Protection Agency requires coal plants in the United States to reduce 90% of their greenhouse pollution by 2039, one year earlier than the agency had initially proposed. The compressed timeline was welcomed by climate activists but condemned by coal executives who said the new standards would be impossible to meet.

美國環境保護署的這項法規，要求美國燃煤電廠在2039年前，減少90%溫室氣體污染，時間比環保署最初擬議早了一年。緊迫的時限受到氣候倡議人士歡迎，但遭到燃煤電廠主管譴責，他們認爲新的標準根本不可能達成。

The EPA also imposed three additional regulations on coal-burning power plants, including stricter limits on emissions of mercury, a neurotoxin linked to developmental damage in children, from plants that burn lignite coal, the lowest grade of coal. The rules also more tightly restrict the seepage of toxic ash from coal plants into water supplies and limit the discharge of wastewater from coal plants.

環保署也對燃煤電廠實施額外三條法規，包括更嚴格限制電廠燃燒褐煤造成的汞排放，汞是一種與傷害孩童發展有關的神經毒素，褐煤則是最低等級燃煤。這些法規也更嚴格管制來自燃煤電廠的有毒灰燼滲入水源，及限制燃煤電廠排放的廢水。

Taken together, the regulations could deliver a death blow in the United States to coal, the fuel that powered the country for much of the last century but has caused global environmental damage. When burned, coal emits more carbon dioxide than any other fuel source.

總而言之，這些法規可能在美國對燃煤造成致命打擊，煤是上世紀大部分時間提供美國能源的燃料，但也造成全球環境破壞。煤燃燒時排放的二氧化碳，比其他任何燃料還多。

The new rules regarding power plants come weeks after the administration’s other major climate regulations to limit emissions from cars and large trucks in a way that is designed to speed the adoption of electric vehicles. Transportation and electric power are the two largest sources in the United States of the carbon pollution that is driving climate change.

關於電廠的新法規，是在拜登政府發佈其他重大氣候法規幾周後推出，這些法規限制汽車和大型卡車排放，以設法加速採用電動車。交通運輸和電力，在美國是造成氣候變遷的碳排放兩個最大來源。

President Joe Biden wants to cut that pollution about 50% from 2005 levels by the end of this decade, and to eliminate emissions from the power sector by 2035.

拜登總統想在這個十年結束前，將碳排放污染減少到2005年水平的50%，並在2035年前消除能源業的碳排放。

The limits on power plant emissions announced Thursday would also apply to future facilities that burn gas, requiring them to capture their emissions or to use a fuel that is nonpolluting. Gas-fired power plants that are currently in operation would be exempt.

週四宣佈的電廠排放限制，也適用未來燃燒天然氣的設施，要求他們捕捉自己的排放，或使用無污染燃料。目前運行中的天然氣發電廠將被豁免。

文／Lisa Friedman and Coral Davenport　 譯／羅方妤