The government is reportedly considering plans to reach net zero five years earlier than the 2050 target.

According to the Daily Mail, government officials are proposing that move to encourage other countries to step up climate action and accelerate their decarbonisation.

The proposals allegedly come after the failure of some of the biggest polluters to commit to the 2050 target during COP26 negotiations.

The participating countries in the climate conference reached an agreement named Glasgow Climate Pact on Saturday after China and India asked to replace a reference in the text to ‘phasing out’ fossil fuel subsidies and coal and replace it with ‘phasing down’.

Last month, the government unveiled its Net Zero Strategy following a law passed by the UK Parliament in June 2019 committing to reaching net zero by 2050.

The UK also unveiled a commitment to decarbonise its electricity system by 2035.

A government spokesperson told ELN: “There are no plans to bring forward the net zero date to 2045.”