Whether or not the parent did those things, individual efforts of those sorts will not solve climate change alone. Technological and policy changes are required. One could rationally argue for such changes, accepting the personal impacts they would bring, even while being unwilling to make equivalent sacrifices absent that motivation. (For example, I might be in favor of a carbon tax that would make driving more expensive, leading me to cut down on unnecessary commuting, even if I would not voluntarily cut down otherwise. Because I know the impact of the tax, and the resulting impact on everyone's behavior, would make a difference worth that sacrifice, whereas my own individual change might not.)