Concentration on better flood defences must be matched by efforts to reverse the changes in our climate due to excessive burning of fossil fuels. If we don't deal with the causes, much money will be wasted.

Some 10 years ago, the UN's International Panel on Climate Change predicted changes which are now occurring. One result in the UK from 2010 to 2013 was a programme of 75 per cent capital grants to bodies such as housing associations to insulate buildings and make use of wind and sunlight.

In addition, the services of teams of heating engineers were provided free of charge to a variety of social enterprises.

Today the grants are not available and the teams of heating engineers have been disbanded. Thus we are in a worse situation than we were three years ago. We now have tight controls on toxic emissions from all our vehicles. But no controls whatever from emissions from buildings, whether commercial and industrial premises or domestic property.

Having signed the agreement made at the International conference in Paris recently, is it not time to demand that the UK government should start dealing with the causes of our climate problems as well as the damage this is making?

Guy K. Greenwood

Windermere