Britain has cut its power station carbon emissions by a quarter in only 12 months, the equivalent of taking one in three cars off the road, new analysis shows.

Scientists have welcomed the “significant” step towards decarbonisation, which was achieved by switching away from coal in favour of natural gas.

The 2016 data by Imperial College London reveals that the switch affords the UK more space than previously thought before converting to renewables is essential.

Natural gas, which has become cheaper than coal thanks to Government policy, emits roughly half the carbon dioxide of coal when burnt.

Britain has switched off many of its older coal-burning plants in recent years years and will increasingly rely on renewable sources of energy such as on and off-shore wind farms.

However, the new study illustrates substantial progress in reducing emissions can be made just by prioritising existing infrastructure.

Published in the journal Nature Energy, its authors calculated that if the other main coal-consuming countries mirrored Britain’s approach it would slash global emissions by roughly a gigatonne - three per cent - every year.

Dr Iain Staffell, from the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial, said: "Switching from coal to gas is not a long-term solution, but it is an important step to start reducing emissions quickly and at minimal cost.