This doesn’t make sense. If I don’t want to pay the cost of alcohol I can just choose not to drink alcohol. If someone drives drunk and injures me, I can sue

This doesn’t make sense. If I don’t want to pay the cost of alcohol I can just choose not to drink alcohol. If someone drives drunk and injures me, I can sue them. I can’t sue anyone for increasing the temperature of the planet. And I can’t opt out. That’s why it’s an externality. It’s a cost that’s forced onto someone with no legal recourse.