经济学人下载:空气污染 呼吸不易

Air pollution
空气污染

Not breathing easy
呼吸不易

A Supreme Court ruling forces the government to deal with dirty air
英国最高法院的裁决迫使政府出策解决空气污染问题

BRITISH air is much clearer than it once was: in 1952 one “pea souper” smog in London(see photo) caused the deaths of around 4,000 people in a week. But it is not as clean as it could be. On April 29th the Supreme Court ordered the next government to come up with a plan by the end of the year to reduce the amount of nitrogen dioxide (NO-2), a noxious gas produced by diesel engines, in the atmosphere. The judgment could have big implications for several large infrastructure projects. It also suggests how, after years of campaigning by greener types, dirty air is finally becoming a political issue.
回想1952年，伦敦全城弥漫着黄色浓雾，一周内导致约4000人失去生命。如今，英国的空气质量变好了许多，但仍有“尽善尽美”的空间。4月29日，英国最高法院责令下届政府年底前制定旨在减少大气中二氧化氮（柴油机制造的一种有毒气体）含量的方案。这一裁决可能对几项大型基建工程产生巨大影响。同时，它也展现了环境污染由多届竞选者打出环保招牌，最终上升为政治问题的过程。

Britain has long been exceeding limits set by the European Union on air pollution. In 2014 the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs reported that, in the previous year, annual mean limits for NO-2 had been breached in 38 out of 43 sites. Certain roads in London, such as Oxford Street, a busy shopping thoroughfare, have seen some of the highest recorded measures of NO-2 in Europe.
按照欧盟设定的空气污染标准，英国已是长期超标。英国环境、食品和农村事务部于2014年发布的一项报告称，2013年年间，43个城市中有38个城市的二氧化氮年平均含量超标。在伦敦，像牛津街之类的繁忙购物大街，其二氧化氮含量已多次超过欧洲的最高纪录值。

The health effects of NO-2 have not yet been calculated for Britain, but are thought to be as potentially damaging as fine man-made particulate matter, says Gary Fuller of King's College London. A report from a government advisory group in 2010 estimated that, if all fine particulate matter (which is mostly caused by car fumes and the wear and tear of tyres on the road) were removed from the atmosphere, it would increase the average life expectancy of those born in 2008 by six months—and for those born in London by nine months.
据伦敦国王学院的加里·富勒称，英国目前尚未统计二氧化氮对国人身体健康的影响，但据估计，其损害威力堪比人工合成的微细颗粒物。政府某家顾问团在2010年发布的一项报告估计称，如果将大气中的微细颗粒物（主要来源为汽车尾气以及汽车行驶过程中轮胎的磨损爆裂）全部清除，那么2008年出生者的平均寿命会延长6个月，伦敦出生者延长9个月。

Despite the mounting evidence of the harmful effects of dirty air, there has been little political desire to get it sorted. Responsibility for cleaning up air pollution falls over several different government departments, and may require unpopular decisions to be made about raising taxes or increasing environmental burdens on car companies. And around a third of the dirty air in Britain is swept across from Europe. Politicians could often skirt the issue by pointing out that it was a Europe-wide problem. But the ruling by the Supreme Court “takes political will out of the equation,” says Alan Andrews of ClientEarth, the group of environmental lawyers who brought the case to the Supreme Court. The government will have to clear up the air within the next decade or so, regardless of costs.
空气混浊产生的危害日益显著，但政治方面很少显露出治理的意向。因此，净化空气之责便落在了几个不同政府部门的肩上。增加税收，抑或是增加汽车公司环保负担的政策皆不得民心，但这些部门可能仍需如此。英国约有三分之一的污浊空气在欧洲扩散净化。政治家们声称空气污染问题需要集整个欧洲之力加以解决，往往借此逃脱问责。最高法院审理的这一案件，原告为环保律师集体建立的组织ClientEarth，其成员艾伦·安德鲁斯律师认为，最高法院的裁决是为了明确政治方面的意向，迫使其在此后十年左右的时间里为净化空气而全力以赴。

However, in the next few months Sir Howard Davies, the leader of an independent Airports Commission, is expected to issue a recommendation on where to expand airport capacity in the south-east. The court ruling adds a “potential black mark” to the case for expanding either Heathrow or Gatwick, Sir Howard's two potential options, says Matthew Farrow, the executive director of the Environmental Industries Commission, an industry group. Levels of NO-2 are already above recommended levels around Heathrow, which is next to a busy motorway, and are expected to rise at Gatwick even without another runway. It could also delay plans for a new bridge in East London.
然而，某家机场委员会（非政府机构）会长霍华德·戴维斯爵士在未来几个月有望提出解决伦敦东南部机场扩建地址的方案。环境产业委员会（产业组织）常务董事马修·法罗称：法院在裁决中还表示，扩建希思罗和盖特威克机场（霍华德爵士的两大备选对象）的话，很可能损害委员会在法律上的名誉。希思罗机场与一条繁忙的高速公路相邻，其周围的二氧化氮含量已经超标；而在盖特威克机场，即使减少一条飞机跑道，其二氧化氮的含量依然会增加。法院的裁决亦会导致东伦敦一座大桥的建造计划延误。

This means the next government will have to make some swift decisions about clearing up Britain's dirty air, by introducing several “low-emission zones” to reduce the number of diesel cars and the like. Measures to cut air pollution have been taken before. In 1956, after the smog in London, the government pushed through a Clean Air Act, banning coal fires in people's homes. That decision was prompted by a crisis. The reasons for pushing through this reform may appear to be less dramatic, but they are no less important.
这说明下届政府需要迅速出台相关政策，推行几个“低排放区”计划，削减使用柴油机汽车等高污染汽车的数量，以此净化国内空气。其实，降低空气污染的措施早在1956年就已实行过。当时，政府在伦敦雾霾消散后力促通过了《清洁空气法》，禁止室内燃烧黑煤，这一政策在危机爆发后的贯彻效果显著。竭力推行空气治理政策的个中缘由也许少了些离奇色彩，但也需要我们同等视之。