英國最大鋼鐵廠將更環保 代價是裁員

Tata Steel said Friday that it planned to shut down the blast furnaces at Britain’s largest steel mill, in Port Talbot, Wales, and replace them with an electric furnace — a move that would cut carbon emissions but could cost 2,800 jobs.

塔塔鋼鐵周五表示，計畫關閉位於威爾斯塔爾伯特港的英國最大鋼鐵廠高爐，並用電爐取代。這一舉措將減少碳排放，卻可能喪失2800個工作。

The company, part of the India-based Tata conglomerate, says the steel mill, much of which dates back to the 1950s, has frequently lost money.

該公司是總部設在印度的塔塔集團一部分，並稱這座鋼鐵廠大部分廠房可追溯到1950年代，且經常虧損。

“The course we are putting forward is difficult, but we believe it is the right one,” the company’s CEO, T.V. Narendran, said in a statement. “We must transform at pace to build a sustainable business in the U.K. for the long term.” He said Tata had invested almost 5 billion pounds (about $6 billion) in the British business since 2007, when Tata bought the mill.

該公司執行長納倫德蘭在聲明表示，「我們正在提出的路線很困難，但我們相信這是正確的，我們必須迅速轉型，好在英國建立長期的可持續業務」。他說，自塔塔2007年收購該工廠以來，已在這項英國事業投資將近50億英鎊（約60億美元）。

Last year, the British government offered 500 million pounds in support of Tata’s plan, which has an estimated price tag of up to 1.25 billion pounds.

去年，英國政府提供5億英鎊支援塔塔的計畫，該項計畫估計要價高達12.5億英鎊。

Although the announcement was not a surprise, unions representing workers at the plant said they were angry that their proposals to save jobs had been rejected. The plant, one of only two big steel mills left in Britain, employs around 4,000 people, and it was unclear how many of the job cuts would take place at Port Talbot; Tata employs around 8,000 people in Britain.

儘管這項聲明並不讓人意外，代表該廠勞工的工會表示，他們對挽救工作的提案遭到拒絕感到憤怒。該廠是英國僅剩的兩家大型鋼鐵廠之一，雇用大約4000人，目前尚不清楚塔爾伯特港將進行多少工作裁減；塔塔在英國雇用大約8000人。

“It is an absolute disgrace that Tata Steel, and the U.K. government, appear intent on pursuing the cheapest instead of the best plan for our industry, our steelworkers and our country,” two unions, Community and GMB, said in a statement.

Community與GMB兩個工會在聲明表示，「塔塔鋼鐵還有英國政府，似乎意圖為我們的產業、我們的鋼鐵工人和我們的國家尋求最廉價而非最好的計畫，這是個絕對的恥辱」。

Tata wants to replace much of the current operation, which uses coal to extract iron from ore, with an electric furnace that makes steel by melting scrap metal in a blaze of sparks. Electric steel-making, which is more common in the United States than in Europe, tends to employ fewer workers.

塔塔想以火花熔化廢金屬鍊鋼的電爐，取代大部分目前作業方式，亦即用煤炭從礦石提煉鐵。電爐煉鋼在美國比在歐洲更為普遍，傾向於僱用更少工人。

Tata says the shift would ensure that steel-making continued at the site while cutting greenhouse gas emissions at the plant by 85% and Britain’s overall emissions by 1.5%.

塔塔表示，這項轉變將確保該廠繼續煉鋼，同時削減該廠溫室氣體排放85%，以及英國整體碳排1.5%。

邊界人潮湧現 粉碎拜登移民政策願景

On President Joe Biden’s first day in office, he paused nearly all deportations. He vowed to end the harsh practices of the Trump administration, show compassion toward those wishing to come to the United States and secure the southern border.

美國總統拜登上任的第一天，他暫停了幾乎全部的驅逐出境。他宣誓要終止川普政府的嚴厲作法，對那些希望來到美國的人展現同情心，並讓美國南方邊界變得安全。

For Biden, it was a matter of principle. He wanted to show the world that the United States was a humane nation, while also demonstrating to his fellow citizens that government could work again.

對拜登來說，這是原則問題。他想要向世界展示，美國是一個人道國家，同時也向他的同胞證明，政府可以再次運作。

But those early promises have largely been set aside as chaos engulfs the border and imperils Biden’s reelection hopes. The number of people crossing into the United States has reached record levels, more than double than in the Trump years. The asylum system is still all but broken.

然而，隨著混亂吞噬邊界並危及拜登連任希望，那些早先的承諾大多已擱置。越界進入美國的人數創下新高，是川普執政年間的兩倍以上。庇護系統依然是幾乎殘破。

During his campaign for the White House in 2020, Biden pledged to limit raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, invest in the asylum system and close private immigration prisons.

在2020年爭奪白宮的選戰期間，拜登保證會限制移民和海關執法局的突襲搜查、投資於庇護系統並關閉私人移民監獄。

When children from Central America started crossing by the thousands in spring 2021, the president’s first instinct was compassion. Biden believed he was elected to deal with immigration in a humane manner.

2021年春天，當來自中美洲的兒童成千上萬開始越過邊界時，拜登總統的第一個反應是同情。拜登相信，他當選是為了以人道方式處理移民。

Some of the circumstances that have created the crisis are out of Biden’s control, such as the collapse of Venezuela, a surge in migration around the world and the obstinance of Republicans who have tried to thwart his efforts to address the problems.

造成這場危機的一些情況不受拜登控制，例如委內瑞拉崩潰，世界各地移民激增，以及共和黨人一意孤行試圖阻撓他解決這些問題的努力。

Biden went from a 2020 candidate who vowed to “end Trump’s assault on the dignity of immigrant communities” to a 2024 president who is “willing to make significant compromises on the border.”

拜登從宣誓要「終止川普攻擊移民社群尊嚴」的2020年候選人，變成「願意在邊界做出重大妥協」的2024年總統。

The people demanding border security were no longer just Republicans. They were members of Biden’s own party.

要求邊界安全的人不再只是共和黨員。他們是拜登自己政黨的成員。

The administration scrambled to meet the Democratic demands, providing more money and speeding up the processing of work permits.

政府忙著滿足民主黨的要求，提供更多經費與加速工作許可的辦理。

But the busing of migrants clearly shifted the discourse around the issue. And polling began to show growing support in the United States for border measures once denounced by Democrats and championed by Trump.

但移民巴士政策無疑轉移了圍繞這個問題的論述。民調開始顯示，曾經受到民主黨人譴責與川普擁護的邊界措施，在美國獲得愈來愈多支持。

As he campaigns for a second term in the White House, Biden has become unapologetic in his calls for more, and stricter, enforcement at the border. He now appears ready to run more as a leader determined to keep people out and less as a champion of displaced people.

在競選第二個白宮任期之際，拜登如今毫無愧意的呼籲更多且更加嚴格的邊境執法措施。他現在似乎準備以決心把人們拒於門外的領袖身分競選，而不是流離失所民眾的捍衛者。