Report uncovers emissions top UK firms keep hidden

Greenhouse gas emissions running into hundreds of millions of tonnes have not been disclosed by Britain’s biggest businesses, masking the full extent of the UK’s contribution to global warming, according to a report published today by Christian Aid.

Only 16 of Britain’s top 100 listed companies are meeting the government’s most elementary reporting guidelines on greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, almost 200m tonnes of CO2 is estimated to be missing from the annual reports of FTSE 100 companies. The figure is more than the entire annual emissions of Pakistan and Greece combined.

Andrew Pendleton, the climate change analyst who wrote the report, said: “The calculations we have made relate to basics, like office lighting, but take no account of investment or supply chains, which are much bigger [emissions] areas. The figures that companies currently declare are such a mess that it is impossible to calculate their total emissions.”

Basic emissions reporting guidelines – backed by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – have been established for some time, but Christian Aid argues they must be made mandatory if they are to become a useful tool in measuring the impact of industry on global warming.

The Guardian