Even as Ms Figueres was speaking in London, EU ministers were wrangling over the bloc's goals on climate change and renewable energy in Brussels - a meeting that ended without agreement on strengthening carbon-cutting ambition, essentially because just one of the 27 nations there, Poland, did not want to.

BBC: Rio in 100 days: A consuming challenge

London has conclusively shown that by being more realistic in ambition, everything can be done without the heartache and angst of previous games.

CNN: London 2012 legacy: Trust the British to get it right

Yet without such a higher purpose where all this love and ambition can be directed, we don't have a very useful guidepost for meaningful success.

WSJ: Carl McCoy: Dear Grads, Don't 'Do What You Love'

Our agreement today with Nanjing Pharmaceutical Company further strengthens this ambition as we are fully aware that we cannot become truly global without a significant presence in China.

FORBES: Move up http://i.forbesimg.com t Move down

Without a second songwriter to spur him on, Mercer is at the mercy of his own ambition, which seems to ebb and flow.

NEWYORKER: Pretty Simple