China launched its first carbon dioxide (CO2) monitoring satellite via a Long March-2D carrier rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 3:22 am last Thursday, and became the third country after Japan and the US to monitor greenhouse gases through its own satellite.上周四凌晨3时22分，我国在酒泉卫星发射中心用长征二号丁运载火箭将首颗二氧化碳监测卫星发射升空，由此成为继日本、美国之后第三个用自主卫星监测温室气体的国家。The 620-kg satellite TanSat was sent into a sun synchronous orbit about 700 km above the earth and will monitor the concentration, distribution and flow of CO2 in the atmosphere, said Yin Zengshan, chief designer of TanSat at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Micro-satellite Innovation Institute.据中科院微小卫星创新研究院碳卫星总设计师尹增山介绍，重达620公斤的碳卫星被送至距地球约700公里的太阳同步轨道上运行，将监测大气中二氧化碳的浓度、分布、流动情况。

On a three-year mission, TanSat will thoroughly examine global CO2 levels every 16 days, accurate to at least 4 parts per million.在长达3年的任务中，碳卫星将每隔16天对全球二氧化碳浓度进行一次全面检测，精确度至少为百万分之四。The satellite will enable China to obtain emissions data first-hand and share it with researchers worldwide, Yin said.尹增山表示，碳卫星将使我国可以获取第一手碳排放数据并与全球研究者共享。TanSat means a louder voice for China on climate change, carbon emission reduction and carbon trading.碳卫星意味着我国在气候变化、碳减排、碳交易方面拥有更大的话语权。China's carbon dioxide emissions are expected to peak around 2030, with emissions per unit of GDP to be cut by 60 percent of 2005 levels. A national carbon trading market will open next year.中国的二氧化碳排放量预计在2030年左右达到高峰，每单位GDP的排放量将比2005年的水平减少60%。全国碳交易市场将于明年开放。