Wobbling on a chair this week, installing an energy light bulb, having just dumped my kitchen waste in the wormery and watered my final crop of salad greens, you’d think I’d be feeling pretty good. Smug, at least, as I single-handedly take on the woes of the world.

But this is a tricky time for Eco-worriers. It’s easy to feel dwarfed by the challenge ahead. The Stern Report underscores the fact our climate is changing because of our increased carbon emissions and draws attention to the need for international action, reminding us this is a global problem.

That’s when our own efforts can seem puny. What’s the point pouncing on anyone who leaves TVs on standby if the rest of the world is belching CO2 as if there’s no tomorrow? A “we won’t if they won’t” stance creeps in, implying our efforts will be wasted unless countries such as China and India follow planet-friendly programs too.

But over the past century, 60 per cent of greenhouse gases have come from the developed world. And while we’re doing most of the damage, it will be countries in the developing world that will be the first to suffer the consequences — frequent floods, disease, storms and water shortages.

And don’t think they don’t know it. Having just returned from India (don’t mention my carbon footprint, in my defence I was there on an eco-mission), I was startled by its green awakening. I had my first ride in a car running on an electric battery (all the rage in Agra); I travelled in buses and auto-rickshaws that used low-emission compressed natural gas and admired Delhi’s billboard posters that broadcast the need to reduce emissions. If you buy a bag of peanuts it’ll be wrapped in a page of sums from a child’s exercise book.

True, there is not the same consciousness of the environmental implications of recycling waste; rather it has become a commodity to exploit. But what matters is the job is being done.

Over here, we struggle to recapture this common-sense thriftiness, dressing it up in retro clothes to make it more acceptable to the style-conscious. It’s worth remembering that it’s not just a question of the developing world following our lead; sometimes we should look to theirs.