IN a week where cutting emissions have made headlines for all the wrong reasons, news that Drax has abandoned a £1bn project to introduce carbon capture technology is worrying. The company blames a government decision to reduce subsidies for renewable energy. When that was announced Drax's share price dropped by a third and we fully understand that for a privately owned firm, there was no other course of action.

But the government is committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 per cent by 2050. What message is this policy sending out?