| Cars will be banned from London and all other cities across Europe under a draconian EU masterplan to cut CO2 emissions by 60 per cent over the next 40 years.The European Commission on Monday unveiled a "single European transport area" aimed at enforcing "a profound shift in transport patterns for passengers" by 2050.The plan also envisages an end to cheap holiday flights from Britain to southern Europe with a target that over 50 per cent of all journeys above 186 miles should be by rail.Top of the EU's list to cut climate change emissions is a target of "zero" for the number of petrol and diesel-driven cars and lorries in the EU's future cities.Siim Kallas, the EU transport commission, insisted that Brussels directives and new taxation of fuel would be used to force people out of their cars and onto "alternative" means of transport."That means no more conventionally fuelled cars in our city centres," he said. "Action will follow, legislation, real action to change behaviour."The Association of British Drivers rejected the proposal to ban cars as economically disastrous and as a "crazy" restriction on mobility."I suggest that he goes and finds himself a space in the local mental asylum," said Hugh Bladon, a spokesman for the BDA."If he wants to bring everywhere to a grinding halt and to plunge us into a new dark age, he is on the right track. We have to keep things moving. The man is off his rocker."Mr Kallas has denied that the EU plan to cut car use by half over the next 20 years, before a total ban in 2050, will limit personal mobility or reduce Europe's economic competitiveness."Curbing mobility is not an option, neither is business as usual. We can break the transport system's dependence on oil without sacrificing its efficiency and compromising mobility. It can be win-win," he claimed.Christopher Monckton, Ukip's transport spokesman said: "The EU must be living in an alternate reality, where they can spend trillions and ban people from their cars."This sort of greenwashing grandstanding adds nothing and merely highlights their grandiose ambitions." | 为严格执行欧盟减少二氧化碳排量的总体规划，欧盟将禁止汽车在伦敦和欧洲所有其他城市行驶。欧盟的目标是在未来40年内使碳排放量减少60%。周一欧盟委员会公布了一个“欧洲单一交通区”计划，目标是在2050年前使“乘客的交通模式发生巨大的改变”。该计划还打算终结从英国到欧洲南部的廉价假日航班，争取让50%以上距离超过186英里的行程都通过铁路完成。欧盟减少污染物排放量的首要任务是让汽油车、柴油车和卡车在未来的欧盟城市完全消失。欧盟交通委员会的西姆•卡拉斯坚称将通过布鲁塞尔指令和对燃料征收新税迫使人们放弃乘坐汽车，采用“替代”的交通工具。他说：“这意味着传统能源汽车将从我们的市中心消失。接下来还会采取措施，通过法规和实际行动改变大众的行为。”英国驾驶员协会拒绝接受这一提议，认为此举对经济的影响是灾难性的，而且对人们流动的限制也过于“疯狂”。英国驾驶员协会的发言人休•布拉顿说：“我建议他给自己在当地的精神病院找个位置。”“如果他想让各处都停止运转，让我们跨入一个新的黑暗时代，那他就做对了。我们必须让一切继续前进。这个人是精神错乱了。”在2050年完全禁车令之前，欧盟计划在未来20年内将汽车使用量减半。卡拉斯先生否认欧盟的这一计划会限制个人行动或降低欧洲的经济竞争力。卡拉斯称：“我们并不会选择限制流动，或牺牲经济。我们可以打破交通系统对燃油的依赖，而不牺牲效率和流动性。这可以是一个双赢的局面。”英国独立党的交通发言人克里斯多夫•蒙克顿说：“欧盟一定生活在另外一个时空，在那里他们可以花钱无数，而且可以让人们不用乘坐汽车。”“这种打着环保旗号的哗众取宠的行为于事无补，只会让他们的宏图伟志显得更不切实际。” Vocabulary:draconian: (of a law, punishment, etc.) extremely harsh and severe（法律、惩罚等）严厉的；残酷的masterplan: 总体规划envisage: to imagine what will happen in the future（想像；设想；展望）Brussels directive: 布鲁塞尔指令，又称EC指令，是欧盟颁布的强制性指令alternative: that can be used instead of something else（可供替代的）mobility: the ability to move or travel around easily（移动的能力；易于行走的能力）bring something to a grinding halt: 使渐渐停下来off one's rocker: 发疯；神经失常greenwash: 绿漂（事实上不环保的厂商，做表面工夫维持环保形象）grandstanding: (especially in business, politics, etc.) the fact of behaving or speaking in a way that is intended to make people impressed in order to gain some advantage for yourself（尤指在商业、政治等方面）哗众取宠；炫耀grandiose: seeming very impressive but too large, complicated, expensive, etc. to be practical or possible（华而不实的；浮夸的；不切实际的） |
发表于 2011-3-30 13:56
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Top of the EU's list to cut climate change emissions is a target of 'zero' for the number of petrol and diesel-driven cars and lorries in the EU's future cities.
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It's really great news.