Jos Bots is not your everyday senior citizen. The old man is about to set out on a record-breaking attempt to become the world’s oldest solo paraglider (单人滑翔伞运动员) at an old age most people struggle to reach.

Reaching for the near-impossible achievement hasn’t exactly been easy for the proud New South Welshman. He has already cheated death several times undertaking the extreme sport. ‘‘I’ve had close calls that have nearly killed me a few times,’’ he said. For example, on November 15, 2020, winds changed mid-flight, and he nearly crashed into hang-gliders and even floated out to sea with paraglider lines wrapped around my legs and wrists.

But age is just a number for Mr Bots, who celebrated his 93rd birthday on Wednesday. He said paragliding still “amazes“ him despite doing it for over 50 years. ‘‘It’s such a wonderful thing to do, flying like a bird,’’ he said.

The current Guinness World Record holder for the oldest solo paraglider is a Polish man named Janusz Orlowski who flew to heights of 332m at the age of 91 in 2017. But Mr Bots believes the time has come for him to seize the title, even with the tough conditions at Sydney’s unofficial home of the sport, Stanwell Park, 58km south of the capital. ‘‘You’ve got to gain 300m in height, which can be done at a lot of places but it’s tough to do at Stanwell Park,’’ Mr Bots said.

Despite all the close calls and ageist naysayers (年龄歧视者), Mr Bots is hungrier than ever to break the record-and he’ll be closely monitoring Stanwell Park weather forecasts waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. “The Guinness Book of Records goes all over the world, and it would be very nice and something to think about,” he said.

The world’s nations have promised to limit global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees over pre-industrial levels, which involves shutting down fossil fuel extraction (化石燃料开采) as quickly as possible. But despite this promise, first reached six years ago during the Paris Climate Accords, the fossil-fuel producing nations are on track to extract more than twice as much coal, oil and natural gas as would be permissible under this plan, a new United Nations report says.

To have a chance of limiting temperature increases to 1.5 degrees, production of coal needs to drop by 11% every year between 2020 and 2030. while production of oil and gas needs to drop by 4% and 3%, respectively, the report finds. Instead, production of oil and gas is set to increase, while coal production is projected to drop slightly.

The so-called production gap, the difference between countries’ climate promises and their fossil fuel production plans — hasn’t changed since the United Nations first examined it in 2019, indicating that international climate accords are still closer to theoretical promises than detailed plans.

The report looks at fossil fuel production in 15 countries — including Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, the U.S. and the United Kingdom — hat are collectively responsible for three-quarters of the world’s fossil fuel production. Most of these countries have promised to reach zero emissions by mid-century, but they are planning to increase their fossil fuel extraction until at least 2030.

So far, climate efforts from major fossil fuel extractors, including industry, have “focused on extracting fossil fuels in less-polluting ways, not on winding down production levels in line with climate goals,” the report says. While these efforts, such as developing carbon-capture (碳捕捉) technology and reducing methane leaks (甲烷泄露) are important. they fall far short of the changes science demands if global temperatures are to stay at a livable level.

To close that gap, the report urges governments to make realistic plans for winding down fossil fuel extraction, starting with state-owned companies, which arc responsible for more than half the world’s extraction of such fuels.

The history of the flying car is almost as old as that of powered flight itself. It started with the Curtiss Autoplane of 1917, awkward-looking equipment with separable wings. It never left the ground. Later machines made it into the skies but failed to take off commercially. Money is now pouring into flying taxis. On March 30th Lilium, a German company that develops them, announced cooperation with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that values it at $3.3 billion — a sign that investors think the business will fly.

Thanks to better batteries and lightweight materials the vehicles, some of them ten years in the making, are ready to carry passengers. Up to 300 firms are working on short-range battery-powered craft that take off and land vertically, estimates Natasha Santha of LEK, a consultancy.

Midway between a cab and a helicopter, flying taxis have obvious advantages over both. Quiet electric motors allow them to operate frequent services. They require only a small area to land, unlike noisy helicopters, which face severe operating restrictions in most cities. They can fly four or five times faster than a cab can drive and do not get stuck in traffic. Prices can be kept low by ride-sharing. Joby, based in California, says its five-seater machine will enter commercial service in 2024. The firm calculates the initial cost of around $4 per person per mile may soon fall by 25%. It plans to start service soon afterwards.

The real change will come when full autonomy (自动驾驶) takes out the cost of a pilot. Archer hopes to run such aircraft by 2028. They face fewer obstacles in the air than earth-bound cars do on the road; airliners mostly fly on autopilot as it is. Still, as one industry insider puts it, it is probably best to adapt passengers and regulators to airborne taxis before laying off the driver.