The Independent on Sunday said that Rudd will get rid of one in eight of her civil servants in a move which is expected to raise criticism of her commitment to tackling climate change ahead of the talks in Paris in a few weeks.
The newspaper reports that at 1,600 staff, Decc is already one of Whitehall’s smallest departments but will lose staff through a “voluntary exit scheme”.
The cuts come as Chancellor George Osborne has called on Whitehall to make spending cuts of up to 40 per cent so he can meet his pledge to balance the country’s books by the end of this parliament.
Defra is understood to have already promised cuts of 30 per cent.
The full impact of the cuts will be made alongside the autumn budget statement on 25 November.