The International Energy Agency has assessed the effects of the Paris Agreement on climate change. Unfortunately, the assessment finds that the Agreement will fall short of its objective of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5° C:
“While this is a significant achievement, it is far from enough to avoid the worst impact of climate change as it would only limit the rise in average global temperatures to 2.7°C by 2100. The path to 2°C is tough, but it can be achieved if policies to accelerate further low carbon technologies and energy efficiency are put in place across all sectors.
“It would require that carbon emissions peak in the next few years and that the global economy becomes carbon neutral by the end of the century. For example, in the WEO-2016 2°C scenario, the number of electric cars would need to exceed 700 million by 2040, and displace more than 6 million barrels a day of oil demand. Ambitions to further limit temperature gains, beyond 2°C, would require even bigger efforts.”
It is unlikely that more aggressive efforts to limit climate change can be forged in the immediate future.
A French software company, AirVisual, has produced a remarkable visual representation of air pollution in the planet. The representation is both stunning and scary–pollution hotspots are pervasive and often occur in unexpected places. But the danger of air pollution is real. According to the World Health Organization, “7 million people died in 2012 from breathing polluted air, either outdoors or inside their homes.”
Business Insider has a great article on the various aircraft carriers in the world. Aircraft carriers are the best index of how “global” a state’s military power is. They are incredibly expensive, difficult to build, and are unquestionably the most powerful single weapon in any weapon’s arsenal. But the varieties of carriers is also rather astounding and can tell a great deal about how a state perceives it role in the global power structure.
The Chinese Aircraft Carrier, the Liaoning
The USS Gerald Ford
World Politics News 
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