Thus the Financial Times today. “Angela Merkel and François Hollande have pledged to strive for an end to fossil fuel pollution as part of a ‘profound transformation’ of the global economy this century,” elaborates the newspaper. The pledge is the two countries’ introduction to the Paris climate talks in December this year. “We will strive to decarbonize fully the global economy over the course of this century,” the two leaders declared. Neither the German chancellor nor the French president explains how they will achieve this laudable goal, though. Large and important as their countries are, they are still a small part of the global economy, and fossil fuels are still dominant energy sources across the globe. The probability that the goal will be reached before the onslaught of climate change is left to the reader. But it is exactly zero, no doubt. If the pledge presages anything, it is the proliferation of similar pledges by so many clever leaders across the globe. By December, the profound transformation will be complete, albeit only on paper. All the rest will be left to hapless leaders of the dodgy future.