Here's a fun little experiment to try with your friends ready to accept anything their overlords tell them to do to "save the planet".

I never challenge people on their eco-concerns. I get why they are concerned. What I tend to do is discuss the impacts of many policies on people in poor countries. How many of these policies are developed by the elites in wealthy countries with no thought for the impacts on people that still lack basic infrastructure. If many of these western polices are put in place these poor people will be cursed to live in poverty for generations instead of advancing like the western world has been able to do.

This shifts the conversation and hopefully makes them think. If they want to talk further I talk about using voluntary measures instead of force. Work on convincing people to change their lifestyle vs. using force. I've had very good conversations with progressives using this approach when talking about battery cars, nuclear power, and all of the "carbon initiatives" when they come up.