We are moving into an era unknown. Not just climatically, but socially and politically. Computers have made a lot of changes to lives, not just social media, but access to information. Much of it is of dubious quality, but politicians are being called out on many issues that would have been ushered through quiet in corridors in the past.
I think Monbiot is suggesting something similar – people action. Not a requirement to sign up for a party or even a set of values/philosophies. Just a huge percentage of the public deciding to act environmentally and sustainably. People, albeit with government support (OK Mart I accept this to some extent), are happy to sort their recycling and put it out once a week. The increase in veganism and vegetarianism is also large, meat eating as reduced. So people are making sensible decisions. Will this spread to shopping for other items? maybe there should be a campaign against the Xmas explosion of tatt that is thrown away after days or sometimes hours, or even minutes of pseudo enjoyment.
The left will castigate India as Modri is right wing, the right will castigate India forgetting our colonial past. It comes back to the financial element – if western governments put a tax on all goods produced and transported using carbon technology. Then countries like India and China would have a financial incentive. The investment in green technologies should be backed by investment from the west.