Don't blame pensioners

This isn't because retired people and those in late middle age don't care about the environment. It's largely because their straitened circumstances dictate other priorities.

It would be great if all older people could afford to insulate their homes and prevent heat loss.

But many are not able to do so because they haven't the cash and they don't fancy the means-tested approach favoured by the government to authorise discretionary payments.

The government has spoken of the need to deal with this situation, but its preferred solutions have always been individualist and market-based.

A lot of pensioners live in older properties and these should attract comprehensive grants not only to help current residents but also to safeguard and improve these homes for future owners or tenants.

The government should be more interventionist with regard to new housing, demanding the highest levels of insulation and efficient provision of heating, through, for example, district combined heating and power schemes.

Too many senior citizens feel trapped in their own homes, unable to travel because of poor public transport and the prospect of standing in wind and rain waiting for irregular buses and trains.

While some towns and cities, such as London under former mayor Ken Livingstone, have improved public transport in recent years, too many areas, especially in the country, still operate what is little better than a skeleton service.

Failure to offer efficient, regular, safe and cheap public transport pushes people, especially the older section of society, to rely on private cars, which are often outdated and less environmentally sound.

The University of York researchers have proposed that the government sets up an older people and climate change group to assess the effect of government policies.

This could be a positive step if it highlights the real problems suffered by older generations and offers workable solutions.

But there is a danger that the relationship between older people and the environment would be seen in isolation rather than as part of a broader picture.

First and foremost, senior citizens, especially those forced to survive on the national state pension alone, have seen their spending power decline absolutely and relatively in recent years.

Government preference for indirect rather than direct taxation has resulted in retired people on fixed incomes being hit by swingeing price rises for gas, electricity, water, council tax and essential foods.

Who, faced with this catalogue of economic challenges, is going to prioritise lashing out on home insulation or more efficient boilers and radiators?

The University of York report makes clear that the over-50s will soon comprise over 40 per cent of the population. Failure to take speedy action will result in an ever-growing section of society suffering economic hardship and getting by in a hand-to-mouth fashion, while being castigated for not taking global warming seriously enough.

Poor pensioners should not be singled out for criticism. They are victims of successive governments' failure to tackle both heating efficiency and pensioner poverty.