COP26 is upon us, and the magnitude of the task we face is daunting. Charts like the one below, showing exponential increases in time series, must not only be made to stop rising but to fall sharply. It is easy to be cynical in the face of such data: to conclude that short-termist politicians with weak mandates will never be able to reverse trends like that, so we might as well give up on trying to find a collective solution,…