布鲁塞尔：周日（10月11日），数万人在比利时首都布鲁塞尔街头游行，前往欧盟总部，要求在即将召开的重要联合国峰会之前采取更有力的行动应对气候变化。
BRUSSELS: Tens of thousands of people marched Sunday (Oct 11) through the Belgian capital Brussels to the EU's headquarters to demand greater action to combat climate change ahead of a major UN summit.
欧洲近几个月来出现创纪录的热浪，引发了人们对人为气候变化对大陆影响的担忧。
Record heatwaves across Europe in recent months have raised concerns about the impact that man-made climate change is having on the continent.
来自世界各地的代表将于下个月聚集在土耳其度假城市安塔利亚，参加年度COP会议。
Delegates from around the globe will gather in the Turkish resort town of Antalya next month for the annual COP gathering.
但由于美国在特朗普领导下已退出该进程，且欧洲的动力正在减弱，人们对本次会议能否取得重大突破持低期望态度。"不仅今天的抗议者，整个民众中都存在着深切的担忧，"经济学家埃蒂安·德·卡拉泰在参加游行时对法新社表示。"我们今年夏天经历的极端高温是人人皆知的。如果政治家们在环境问题上采取勇敢措施，他们不应害怕选举后果。"
But expectations are low that the meeting will yield any major breakthroughs as the United States under Donald Trump has disengaged from the process and momentum is waning in Europe. "There is a great deal of concern among the population, not just among the protesters today," economist Etienne de Callatay told AFP, as he attended the march. "The extreme heat we experienced this summer is something everyone was aware of. Politicians shouldn't be afraid of electoral repercussions if they take courageous measures on environmental issues."
为发展合作非政府组织工作的奥雷尔·施雷伯说，她带着家人参加游行"是为了让政治家们醒来，听到公民的声音"。"我们需要倾听年轻人和最弱势群体的诉求，"她说。"我们需要更绿色、更公平的供应链，这必须考虑到工人的问题和工资。"警方表示，此次游行是布鲁塞尔系列游行中的最新一场，参与人数为45,000人。
Aurore Schreiber, who works for a development cooperation NGO, said she had attended with her family "so that politicians wake up and hear the citizens' message". "We need to listen to the demands of young people and the most vulnerable," she said. "We need greener, fairer supply chains that take into account workers' issues and wages." Police put the number of participants at the march, the latest in a series to be held in Brussels, at 45,000.
能源危机 去年在巴西未能达成更雄心勃勃的协议后，欧盟的希望落空，如今它对下个月的COP31会议抱有低期望。
Energy crisis After having its hopes dashed for a more ambitious deal last year in Brazil, the European Union is setting its sights low for next month's COP31.
随着气候怀疑论者特朗普让美国退出谈判，国际应对全球变暖的努力已经遭受重创。
With climate sceptic Trump withdrawing the United States from the negotiations, international efforts to combat global warming had already taken a battering.
如今情况看来更加不乐观。能源价格飙升使主要石油和天然气生产国处于有利地位，这使它们不太愿意讨论逐步淘汰化石燃料。
Now the situation looks even less promising. Surging energy prices have put major oil and gas producers in a position of strength that makes them less likely to want to discuss phasing out fossil fuels.
欧盟坚称它仍然是全球气候行动的领导者，并且是该领域的主要国际捐助国。但该集团在参加COP之前刚刚削弱了自身的环境立法。
The EU insists it remains the global leader on climate action and is the principal international donor in the field. But the bloc arrives at the COP having recently watered down its own environmental legislation.
在努力与中国和美国竞争的过程中，布鲁塞尔一直在推动越来越亲商的政策。
As it struggles to compete with China and the United States, Brussels has been on an increasingly business-friendly push.
上个月的最新例子是，委员会提议将一项针对甲烷的法律实施时间推迟一年，从2027年推迟至2028年，甲烷是一种极具污染性的温室气体。
The most recent example last month was the commission proposing to postpone the implementation of a law targeting methane, an extremely polluting greenhouse gas, by one year, from 2027 to 2028.