正文
Glencore's message to the planet
嘉能可公司向地球传达的信息
In 2021 the world, which was meant to "consign coal power to history" during the UN's COP26 climate summit, probably consumed more coal-fired electricity than ever before, the International Energy Agency said in December. The strength of demand drove coal prices to record levels in October 2021. The buoyancy is expected to continue into 2022.
按照第 26 届联合国气候变化大会期间的号召，世界本应该“让煤炭发电成为历史”。然而国际能源机构去年 12 月表示，2021 年全世界可能消费了比以往更多的煤电。2021 年的 10 月，旺盛的需求驱使煤炭价格再创新高，据估计，这一上涨趋势将延续到 2022 年。
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What is bad news for the planet has been great for coal producers. With the mineral in the ascendancy, no big Western mining company has done as well for shareholders in the past 12 months as Glencore, the diversified minerals-and-metals producer valued at $66bn that since 2018 has snapped up coal assets divested by peers like Rio Tinto, BHP and Anglo American.***
这个对地球来说的坏消息，对煤炭生产商来说却是件好事。随着煤炭的崛起，在过去 12 个月里，没有哪家西方大型矿业公司能像嘉能可公司这样为股东带来如此丰厚的回报。这家市值 660 亿美元的公司从事多元化的矿产及金属生产，从 2018 年开始，该公司收购了力拓、必和必拓公司和英美资源集团等同行出售的煤炭资产。
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Only a few years ago investors, especially those with environmental, social and governance (ESG) mandates, were virtually united in the opinion that big miners should withdraw from the dirtiest fossil fuel. Now they take a different view. This may be a matter of principle. It is also a sign of how fickle investors can be when ESG goals clash with the objective of maximising financial returns.
仅仅在几年以前，投资者，尤其是那些对环境、社会和公司治理（ESG）有要求的投资者，几乎持有一个共识：大型的矿产公司应该停止投资污染最严重的化石燃料。而现在，他们的观点有所改变，这也许只是一个原则问题。这也表明，当 ESG 目标与最大化财务回报的目标发生冲突时，投资者是多么善变。
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Glencore is bracingly pragmatic. It views coal as a "vital transition fuel", especially in Asia. However much the world worries about coal, many developing countries will favour cheap energy over the clean sort if forced to choose. Only concerted government action to tax carbon emissions and redesign energy systems will kill off king coal.
嘉能可公司的务实精神振奋人心，该公司将煤炭视为一种“至关重要的过渡燃料”，尤其是在亚洲。无论全世界多为煤炭发愁，如果被迫作出选择，许多发展中国家都会倾向于廉价能源，而不是清洁能源。只有采取协调一致的政府行动，对碳排放征税，重新设计能源系统，才能彻底杀死“煤炭国王”。
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主编：桃子、Jessie
品控：桃子、啾笛、Dobby
审核：Lucky
重点词汇
be meant to do sth.
应该做某事
例句：The police are meant to protect people.
consign sb./sth. to sth.
把......置于，使......处于（不利境地）
例句：After she lost her job, she was consigned to a life of poverty.
搭配短语：consign sth. to history（让某事成为历史）
coal-fired
/ˈkoʊl.faɪrd/
adj. 以煤为燃料的
词根词缀：-fired（表示“用......作燃料的”）
相关词汇：gas-fired（adj. 烧燃气的）
搭配短语：coal-fired power stations
drive
/draɪv/
v. 促使，推动；开（车），驾驶
英文释义：to influence sth. or cause it to make progress
例句：Policy is the main factor driving investment in the area.
buoyancy
/ˈbɔɪ.ənsi/
n. 上涨行情；浮力
例句：Salt water has more buoyancy than fresh water.（浮力）
英文释义：the ability of prices to quickly get back to a high level after a difficult period
ascendancy
/əˈsen.dən.si/
n. 支配地位, 优势地位
相关词汇：ascendant（adj. 力量（或影响）增长的）
搭配短语：in the ascendant（飞黄腾达，蒸蒸日上）
英文释义：increasingly successful or powerful
例句：He's in the ascendant in Hollywood.
例句：Supporters of the proposal are currently in the ascendancy.
diversify
/dɪˈvɝː.sə.faɪ/
v.（使）多元化经营，（使）从事多种经营；多样化
相关词汇：diversity（n. 多样性）
搭配短语：to diversify into live-stream shopping
snap up
抢购，赶紧买下
相关词汇：snap（v. 啪地一声）
例句：The rope snapped.（绳子啪地绷断了。）
例句：The best deals were snapped up within hours.
divest
/dɪˈvest/
v. 卖掉，出售（企业或其中一部分）；脱掉（衣服）
例句：The company divested itself of 45 percent of its assets.
mandate
/ˈmæn.deɪt/
n. 命令, 指令；授权，委托
搭配短语：a mandate from the UN（来自联合国的授权）
英文释义：an official order or commission
withdraw from
退出（活动，组织等）
相关词汇：withdraw（v. 退出，撤回）
搭配短语：to withdraw from the competition
搭配短语：calls for Britain to withdraw from the European Union
fickle
/ˈfɪk.əl/
adj.（意见）反复无常的，易变的
clash with
与......冲突，不一致
相关词汇：clash（n. 冲突，矛盾；v. 有分歧，相抵触）
搭配短语：a clash of personalities
搭配短语：a clash of opinions
例句：Expectations clash with real life.
favour sth. over sth.
更加支持......
例句：The judicial system shouldn't favour men over women.
concerted
/kənˈsɝː.t̬ɪd/
adj. 协同一致的，齐心协力的
英文释义：planned or done together for a shared purpose
例句：It's time for concerted action by world leaders.
kill off
消灭
近义词：destroy
例句：The factory dumped poisonous wastes into the river and killed off the fish.