NEW YORK – The 17th conference of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, popularly known as COP-17, is taking place in Durban, South Africa, at a critical moment, as the historic 1997 Kyoto Protocol is set to expire next year. But, like the climate-change conferences in Copenhagen in 2009 and in Cancún in 2010, COP-17 can be expected to spend much and produce little.
纽约——第十七届联合国气候变化框架会议（简称COP17）正在南非举行，这次会议的时间可谓关键，因为1997年京都议定书将于明年失效。但是，与2009年哥本哈根和2010年坎昆的气候变化会议相似，COP17很可能以期望越大失望越大的结局收场。