Britain’s power supply is now the seventh cleanest in the world after climbing 13 places in a global league table.

That’s according to researchers at Imperial College London, who in collaboration with the Drax Group, compared the carbon content of electricity supplies across various large countries between 2012 and 2016.

They said the UK’s strong carbon price of £23 per tonne of carbon dioxide has driven a shift from coal to gas and an increased uptake of renewables, seeing emissions from electricity almost halve during the period.

Weaker carbon prices of around £5 per tonne in Europe mean Britain’s shift was the biggest for any country in the league table.

Norway, Sweden and France have the cleanest power systems among large and industrialised countries due to their mountainous terrain allowing for substantial hydropower resources.

The Netherlands moved eight places down the leaders’ table as a result of building new coal-fired power stations.

India and South Africa have the dirtiest power sectors on the list thanks to intensive use of the fossil fuel.

Dr Iain Staffell, from Imperial College London said: “Britain is reducing its carbon emissions from electricity faster than any other major country and this has happened because the carbon price and lower gas prices have forced coal off the system.”

• Low Carbon, UK, carbon price, emissions reduction