Britain will ramp up its commitment to cut carbon emissions ahead of hosting a UN climate summit this year, vowing a 78 percent reduction by 2035, reports said on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to unveil later this week the legally-binding target, which is 15 years earlier than once planned, the BBC reported.

It said that for the first time the commitment will also cover emissions from international aviation and shipping, a long-standing demand of environmental activists.

It comes ahead of the UK staging COP26, the United Nation's annual climate gathering, in Glasgow in November.

On Thursday, Johnson will address a climate summit hosted by US President Joe Biden, as he attempts to make Britain a world leader on the issue in the run-up to November.

The country has set a target of becoming carbon neutral by mid-century and has already ramped up its targets.

In December, Britain said it will cut its greenhouse gas emissions by more than two-thirds, compared to 1990 levels, by 2030 -- one of the most ambitious aims of any major economy.

The latest 78 percent target for the middle of the next decade was among the recommendations made last year by the UK government's independent advisory body, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC).

It noted there would have to be more electric vehicles, an extension of offshore wind power generation, a reduction in meat and dairy consumption, and the planting of new woodland.

However, Johnson's government has faced criticism that its rhetoric on climate change has not been matched by meaningful policies.

A flagship subsidy scheme to help improve homes' energy efficiency was withdrawn recently after a chaotic rollout.

Meanwhile environmentalists are furious ministers said last month that they could license further oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.

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