Liberal leader Sussan Ley is reportedly poised to dump net zero to save her leadership as she faces mounting pressure from within.

There were multiple reports on Tuesday (AEDT) of an internal push to replace Ley with rival Angus Taylor, who is opposed to the climate goal.

The Liberals will hold their first party room meeting since the Nationals decided to ditch the climate policy.

The rural party voted to dump its commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050 at a meeting on Sunday.

Ley could also ditch the goal to save her leadership as conservatives within the Liberals unite against it.

The Australian reports that senior Liberal MPs believe it’s increasingly likely Ley will junk net zero after top conservatives united against it in a meeting of the Liberal leadership group on Sunday night.

The Australian Financial Review said events had cascaded in the previous 24 hours and the “overwhelming mood now was to walk away from net zero”.

However, moderate Liberal MPs want the party to maintain its support for the target.

Monash University head of politics Zareh Ghazarian said resolving the question of climate change was “unavoidable” for the Coalition and could lead to a split.

Kos Samaras, founder of research firm Redbridge, said the Coalition risked losing much-needed votes from younger Australians after its election drubbing in May if it dropped the climate commitment.

“Politically, at this rate, they won’t be in government in the next 10 years,” Samaras said.

“The Coalition is only securing 15 to 16 per cent of gen Z voters in this country. This entire saga is going to continue to basically put more nails on that coffin of theirs when it comes to talking to younger Australians.”

Ley said the Nationals were entitled to take their own position on net zero.

“I always said that the Nationals would come to their decision in their party room and the Liberals would similarly come to our decision in our party room,” she said at Parliament House on Monday.

Liberal frontbencher Andrew Bragg wants the target to be retained in some form, stressing that Australia must maintain its international obligations.

“The Paris Accord requires you to get to net zero in the second half of this century,” Bragg told Sky News.

“I don’t think it’s beyond the realm of possibility that Australia could achieve that.”

However, Liberal backbencher Sarah Henderson hoped her colleagues supported the Nationals’ position and “turn our back entirely on Labor’s terrible net zero laws”.

Fellow backbencher Rick Wilson called for the target to be dumped, saying his vast electorate of O’Connor in south-east Western Australia is “ground zero for net zero”.

Debating maverick Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce’s bill to scrap net zero in parliament on Monday, Wilson said he was frustrated agricultural land was being converted into renewables projects.

Joyce, who has flagged his intention to quit the Nationals amid frustration over the climate goal, said he was yet to decide on his political future, despite the target being dropped.

As division within the opposition reached a fever pitch, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would “leave the Coalition to their chaos and infighting”. He acknowledged power prices and the cost of living were affected households, but laid some of the blame on the former government.

“What has occurred on power prices is a product in part of the dysfunction and chaos that’s been there [in] the Coalition – 24 out of 28 coal-fired power stations announced their closure,” he said in Canberra.

“They had no plan to do anything other than fighting each other, and that’s continuing today.”

The Nationals’ position has put the party out of step with the Business Council of Australia and National Farmers’ Federation. But leader David Littleproud said he wouldn’t take “gratuitous advice” from others.

The Nationals argue Australia is doing its fair share to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and its goals should be brought into line with an average among comparable nations.

But Littleproud said he would not pressure the Liberal Party to drop its commitment.