Economy at the expense of the environment?

We were just told that while protecting the environment is important, we should not do so at the expense of the economy. Economic development still comes first, because we play only a small little part in damaging the environment. After all, we only contribute 0.2% towards emissions that harm the environment. This 0.2% is not going to save the environment, so if we have to choose between environment and economy, we should choose the economy.

Now, if everyone thinks like that, no one would bother to do anything for the environment.