I guess that's why we're all doomed to a broken planet. As long as we keep using "well, no one else is going to change" as an excuse we'll inherit the world we deserve.
This is mostly already happened with solar / wind power, though we need some improvements on battery tech to get grid-scale adoption. The levelized cost of wind is lower than any alternative, and solar is getting close. I’m sure the situation has improved in the last two years, but here is a report from 2018:
https://www.lazard.com/media/450784/lazards-levelized-cost-o...
True, but if people who otherwise realize the necessity of the change are unwilling to subject themselves to any inconvenience, what hope do we have of ever making the kinds of organized societal changes that are necessary? If you are unwilling to make a tiny change like reducing your meat consumption, you're probably the kind of person who would never vote for a government that forces you to.
The argument is simply way to excuse your own behavior.
We don't need self-imposed austerity measures. Just end the meat & dairy subsidies.
Reducing methane from cattle is important, finger wagging at consumers is a red herring that will deepen partisan divides.
Correct.
> going in with the mindset that "this isn't useful unless innovation and policy changes come about"
Curbing methane emissions by including seaweed in the feed is useful and proactive. Blaming consumers is not.
Now that developing nations have started to get richer, western nations cannot say that they ought to now make a sacrifice and stop consuming meat, because doing so _is_ hypocrisy.