The UK government is considering making further commitments on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, likely to be announced at the UN climate summit this year, according to The Guardian.

It is hoped the plan will help kickstart global ambitions on cutting emissions and encourage other countries to follow suit.

Under the Paris climate agreement countries are obliged to submit more stringent targets on emissions in February, if the world is to have any chance of holding global temperature rises to within 1.5C of preindustrial levels.

But Ed Miliband, the secretary of state for energy security and net zero, hopes to announce a new target months early, and has the support of Keir Starmer, the prime minister, in trying to propel the UK into a leadership position on the international stage at climate negotiations.

Starmer attended the previous summit, COP28, when he was leader of the opposition and has been invited to COP29, which will take place in Azerbaijan in November.