Sir Michael Palin has said he feels “a sense of complete frustration” over the attitudes of some people towards the environment.
The broadcaster told the That Gaby Roslin Podcast there has been “great progress”, and “most” people would like to do something about climate change.
He also praised the work of naturalist Sir David Attenborough.
“My feeling is a sense of complete frustration that people are still prepared to burn down the forests and spill oil in the sea,” he told the podcast.
“There has been great progress but we still have great cruise ships spilling oil in the ocean, overfishing, corals disappearing.”
He added that “most right-thinking people would really like to do something about it”.
“I realise I can’t take on everything I’d like to, what you have to do is directly take responsibility for the way you live and moderate it, that would make a huge difference.”
Sir Michael said it is important to “persuade” people of the value of being environmentally friendly.
“You can’t hate everyone who is a polluter, you’ve got to somehow use empathy,” he said.
He said Sir David, who regularly speaks out about environmental issues, has a “quietly authoritative tone”.
“What I’ve always envied is his ability to communicate, it’s extraordinary at any level,” he said.
“He has a terrific sense of humour. There is an ego there, but the ego is not centred on himself, it’s about getting the programme right.”