23考研题源外刊阅读《经济学人》双语精读版训练--投资界的宠儿ESG为何逐渐暴露问题？

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小贴士：

补充本文的一个背景知识：Ananti-competitive practiceis an action conducted by one or more businesses to make it difficult or impossible for other companies to enter or succeed in their market. The market distortion resulting from anti-competitive practices can result in higher prices, poorer service and a stifling of innovation, among other effects. As such, anti-competitive practices are illegal in most countries and are prohibited under antitrust law in the United States.

——大橙子留

上期翻译答案

Researchers have long wondered whether the physical manifestations of emotions, from smiling and laughing to crying and a pounding heart, ramp up the intensity with which an emotion is felt.

研究人员一直以来都想知道，微笑、大笑、大哭和快速的心跳等身体的情绪表现，是否会增加人们感受到的情绪强度。

1.ramp up: to make sth increase in amount

《本期内容》

双语阅读

Can profit-seeking companies really help save the planet? The question has longdoggedthe practice of environmental, social and governance(esg) investing. Judging by thegiddygrowth in all things esg, you might have thought the answer to it must be Yes. More than $35trn of assets worldwide are said to be monitored using some sort of sustainability lens, an increase of 55% since 2016. Investors, banks and businesses have signed up to a series of alliances, from the gfanz and the gsia to the pri and the iigcc, pledging to bring down their own carbon emissions and those of their portfolios.

逐利企业真的能帮助拯救地球吗？长期以来，这个问题一直困扰着环境、社会和公司治理(esg)投资实践。从ESG所有令人眼花缭乱的增长来看，你可能会认为答案一定是肯定的。据称，全球有超过35万亿美元的资产受到某种可持续性方面的监管，这一数额自2016年以来上涨了55%。投资者、银行和企业已经加入了一系列联盟，从格拉斯哥零净金融联盟（The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero）和全球可持续投资联盟（The Global Sustainable Investment Alliance ）到联合国负责任投资原则组织（Principles for responsible Investment）和气候变化机构投资者组织（The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change），承诺减少他们自己的和投资项目的碳排放。

But as the focus shifts from words to deeds, the contradictions in esg are becoming brutally clear. It is the mission of companies to generate long-term value for their investors. That might sometimes align with the aim of decarbonisation. Unfortunately, it will often be more profitable for a business to dump costs, such as pollution, on to society than to bear them directly. And in places without a consensus on climate policy, getting involved in greenery can bring clashes with both regulators and investors. Unless governments resolve the dilemma, esg isdoomed tofall short on actions.

但随着大家的焦点从口号转向行动，ESG的矛盾变得异常清晰。企业的使命就是为投资者创造长期价值。有时，这可能与脱碳目标是一致的。然而不幸的是，通常来说，企业将污染等成本转嫁给社会往往比自己直接承担成本的利益更大。在没有就气候政策达成共识的地方，企业如果加入到环保活动中可能会与监管机构和投资者发生冲突。除非各国政府解决这一进退两难的困境，否则esg注定无法付诸现实。

One illustration of the tensions in esg is the political firestorm in America around BlackRock, a huge asset manager. Republican attorneys-general in 19 states accuse it of misusing its market power by boycotting fossil-fuel firms. The company rejects the charge. Meanwhile, watchdogs in New York, a Democratic state, complain that BlackRock is not green enough. The controversy could come at a cost to the business: Texas, a Republican state, plans to ban its pension funds from dealing with the firm.

体现ESG局势紧张的例子之一，是美国围绕贝莱德这家大型资产管理公司开展的政治风暴。管辖19个州的共和党总检察长指控该公司滥用市场权力，抵制化石燃料公司。这家公司否认了这一指控。与此同时，偏民主党的纽约州的监管机构控诉贝莱德不够环保。这一争议可能会让该公司付出代价：偏共和党的德克萨斯州计划禁止用其养老基金与该公司开展投资交易。

No wonder that some financial institutions are getting cold feet about green alliances. Critics offer lots of reasons for thejitters. Membership of gfanz, which includes firms overseeing $130trn in assets, has beentoutedby some as evidence of anti-competitive behaviour. Other questionsswirl. Can pledges be made without investors’ approval? Would missed pledgesputfirmson the hookfor legal action? And why comply with onerous rules if you don’t have to?

难怪一些金融机构对绿色联盟感到害怕。批评者们指出了这些不安举动的诸多原因。格拉斯哥零净金融联盟影响力巨大，甚至有管理近130万亿美元的公司位列其中，尽管存在反竞争行为（也即垄断行为）的证据，但仍然受到了一些人的吹捧。也流传着一些其他问题。企业是否能在未经投资者批准的情况下作出承诺？没能兑现承诺的公司会面临法律诉讼吗？如果没有必要，为什么要遵守繁重的规矩?

The esg dream was that capital markets would penalise those firms that ignored the looming costs of climate change on their businesses. But in practice the costs are too uncertain and distant to play a big part in firms’ or investors’ financial calculus. Most companies can win the gains of appearing green while avoiding the cost of decarbonising by paying lip-service to green goals.

ESG幻想资本市场能够对那些无视气候变化对业务带来潜在成本的公司施以惩罚。但实践中，这种成本太过不确定，太遥远，在企业或投资者的财务决策中难以起到很大的影响。翻译划线句，长按文末小程序码打卡，答案下期公布~

本文节选自：The Econo米斯特（经济xue人）

发布时间：2022.09.29

作者：Leaders

原文标题：The fundamental contradiction of ESG is being laid bare

词汇积累

1.dog

/dɒɡ/

n. 狗

v. 困扰，纠缠; 跟踪，尾随

2.giddy

/ˈɡɪdɪ/

vt.使晕眩；使眼花缭乱

adj.头晕的；眼花的；令人眼花缭乱的；轻浮的

3. jitter

/ˈdʒɪtə/

n.紧张不安；（电子信号等）晃动

v.紧张不安；（信号或装置）晃动

4.tout

/taʊt/

vt.兜售；招徕

n.侦查者；兜售者

5.swirl

/swɜːl/

v. (使)打旋，(使)旋动; 流传(尤用于新闻报道); 眩晕

n. 打旋，旋涡; 漩涡状，螺旋形; 纷乱

词组搭配

1.be doomed to 注定要…

2.put sb on the hook 使…落入圈套

写作句总结

But as the focus shifts from words to deeds, the contradictions in esg are becoming brutally clear.

结构: But as the focus shifts from words to deeds, the contradictions in … are becoming brutally clear.

但随着大家的焦点从口号转向行动，…的矛盾变得异常清晰。

例句: But as the focus shifts from words to deeds, the contradictions in staff-transfer are becoming brutally clear.

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