I only partially agree with that. I would say that people are unwilling to sacrifice anything of real value in pursuit of the goal (OP not withstanding).
"turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth" --> Sure, I'll do that, it's easy.
"Use a paper straw" --> sure, why not.
"Stop flying on planes at all, ever again" --> um, maybe not..
"Stop eating beef. You can eat crickets." --> Nope!
That's really frustrating because it ought to be "Eat less beef and more vegetables, which is what your doctor was telling you anyway."
It's not that hard. It doesn't have to be absolute: eat beef 2 meals a week rather than 8-10 and you're saving a lot of CO2.
It's not just that people don't sacrifice real value. They often don't want to make even the smallest choices. They just look past the vegetarian options each and every single time they sit down at a restaurant.
Presenting it as "veganism and crickets or no alternative" is just a way of deflecting. (Besides, vegans don't eat crickets.)
I think this is best put by David MacKay: "If everyone does a little, we’ll achieve only a little"
Assuming everything is as dire as they say, doing the "small" things simply isn't enough. And it will take a lot of people doing a lot of large things. Everyone wants the government to force people to do the things that they aren't willing to do themselves.
"turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth" --> Sure, I'll do that, it's easy.
"Use a paper straw" --> sure, why not.
"Stop flying on planes at all, ever again" --> um, maybe not..
"Stop eating beef. You can eat crickets." --> Nope!