Healthy Ageing in a Changing Climate

A guest blog by Pat Scrutton, Intergenerational National Network and Ryan Woolrych, Heriot-Watt University

Agnes, Babet, Ciaran, Debi, Elin, Fergus, Gerrit, Henk and most recently Isha and Jocelyn; we have had ten storms since late September. We all know that our climate is changing. We see it in our communities and in our gardens, and we hear about its effects almost daily in the news.

But do we often stop and think whether there are groups of people who are particularly affected?

One of those groups is older adults. In 2023, Heriot-Watt University and the University of York undertook a research project, ‘Healthy Ageing in a Changing Climate’, to explore what the impact of climate change on older people might be.

They approached this in a number of ways. They developed a UK-wide survey. They then brought people together in community settings across the UK to have conversations about how climate change affects their lives, and about what we can do to help. They also worked closely with an advisory group, of which I was a member.

Over 140 older adults, policymakers, practitioners and other stakeholders came together in Manchester and Rochdale; Belfast; Leith; and Cardiff. The Leith event was slightly different to the others. We worked with the Citadel in Leith to design an intergenerational workshop.

Their task was to co-design potential solutions at the local, community and city levels.

Together, we identified six key areas that require action to address the threat posed by climate change to the healthy ageing of older adults living in cities and communities throughout the UK:

• supporting older people to take action;

• using the power of communities;

• improving transport, and making it easier for people to get around;

• building and adapting housing that can cope with the changing climate;

• supporting wellbeing and improving healthcare for older adults in extreme weather; and

• encouraging communities to work across generations to address climate change.

The next step was to come up with recommendations for local and national governments to take in partnership with older people and community organisations.

 

Recommendations

Climate change is a public health issue. To address it requires joined-up thinking and working.

Older adults should be recognised as leaders in their communities and as ambassadors for climate change.

Local and national governments can support this by providing clear information at the right time, in the right place, and in ways that work for people locally. They also need to listen to everybody’s voices when talking about cli-mate change.

Governments also need to design and build housing options which support older adults to age in the right place. This would include long-term plans (not just emergency responses) and supporting them to use technology to stay in touch with family and friends, as well as with public agencies.

Governments need, too, to develop reliable transport that enables access to essential services during extreme weather. The design of outdoor spaces is important too: shaded bus stops, tree lined streets and resting points would all make a difference.

Community hubs could offer inclusive and welcoming safe spaces where all members of the community feel comfortable, particularly during extreme weather events such as storms and floods. They could also offer health and wellbeing outreach services, and provide a base for voluntary and community organisations.

 

Climate Chat – a project by Outside the Box, communities committed to climate action