Very well said, haunches. I recall a great blog by Gwyn Morgan in 2016, discussing the importance of addressing demand as a mechanism to reducing fossil fuel use, but as is typical, he was mocked and vilified by the enviro-nazis, because of his previous involvement with the oilpatch.

The answer, imo, to reducing humankind's carbon footprint (more importantly, pollution footprint) is education and action at a grass-roots level. The time-tested three R's, making do with less and mindful use of all resources while increasing use of alternative energy sources as they become more readily available, is the only prudent way forward.

Forcing alternatives prematurely is expensive and unproductive, as Ontario has learned. And since governments everywhere assess fiscal health by retail sales - essentially the accumulation of "stuff", a re-think of that approach is in order.