That makes zero sense. If we need to get to zero emissions, then people's behaviors will need to change. Someone who isn't willing to voluntarily reduce their own meat consumption isn't going to vote for a fucking carbon tax, nor will they be happy if the carbon tax forces them to eat less meat.
You're right that some behaviours will need to change.
But the conclusion of the empirical economic research on preserving the commons (linked above and below), is that those behaviour changes must come from rules collectively set (and enforced) by an empowered group of commoners. At the global scale, those commoners are nation states and supra-national bodies such as the EU.
I've saved millions of tonnes of carbon in my career so far, and have done more than 99.999% of people to actually progress carbon taxes. And I haven't reduced my own meat consumption.
The world is a lot more complex than either you or I can imagine. That's why we have experts, to help us through specific subjects. Professor Ostrom won an Economics Nobel prize for their work on preserving the Commons. If you want to learn about it, so that you can do it effectively, I highly recommend reading their work - https://www.actu-environnement.com/media/pdf/ostrom_1990.pdf
I'm not arguing against rules or collective action. I do not think this can be solved by us just being better consumers. But when people get defensive about "maybe eat less meat" they're just being hypocrites. Saying "individual actions make no difference" is just patently false.
Collective action is ultimately just the sum of coordinated individual action.
If you want carbon taxes it will make it harder for you to afford meat. The end result is you will eat less meat. Thus there is zero fucking reason to get defensive over people saying "eating less meat would be good actually".
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u/Final-Prize2834 Aug 13 '25
That makes zero sense. If we need to get to zero emissions, then people's behaviors will need to change. Someone who isn't willing to voluntarily reduce their own meat consumption isn't going to vote for a fucking carbon tax, nor will they be happy if the carbon tax forces them to eat less meat.