It is expected the UK’s nomination will be formally accepted at December’s COP25 summit in Chile and COP26 will be hosted by Glasgow, in partnership with Italy.

Councillor Susan Aitken, Glasgow City Council leader, said: “It is a tremendous honour for our city and recognition of the strides on sustainability we have made that Glasgow will host an event of such global significance.

“The Climate Emergency is the issue of our age and COP26 will be the most significant coming together of world leaders to discuss it since the signing of the Paris Agreement.

“This is the century of the city and cities are best placed to get to grips with the global climate emergency. Here in Glasgow we are determined to become the UK’s first ‘zero carbon city

“Our ambition is to be at the forefront on climate action and we hope the efforts in our city can encourage the attending world leaders to deliver for our planet.”

Claire Perry, UK-nominated President for COP26, said: “In 2020, world leaders will come together to discuss how to tackle climate change on a global scale – and where better to do so than Glasgow, one of the UK’s most sustainable cities with a great track record for hosting high-profile international events.

“I welcome the nomination from our partners in the UN regional group to host COP26 in Glasgow in partnership with Italy. The UK is a world-leader in emissions reduction, and we have recently committed to reducing our net emissions to zero.”