Firms understate greenhouse emissions - Christian Aid report
Tue 20 February 2007
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Some of the UK's biggest companies are significantly understating the amount of greenhouse gases they produce according to a new report by Christian Aid. The charity has also launched a campaign to persuade the Government to commit to cutting the UK's CO2 emissions by 5% a year and thus reducing the impacts of climate change on developing countries.
According to the Government, the UK produces about two per cent of world carbon emissions but Christian Aid's report questions this, alleging that the true figure associated with major companies could be as much as 15 per cent of the global total. It claims that only 16 out of the 100 companies on the FTSE 100 index report their basic emissions in line with agreed standards.
Christian Aid says that if all of the FTSE 100 companies applied these standards they would have to declare a further 190.65 million tons of carbon, an additional 30% on emissions currently reported.
The Daily Telegraph quotes Andrew Pendleton, Christian Aid's senior climate-change analyst, who said: "This is the tip of the iceberg and the real figure is likely to reach into billions of tons, not millions. The calculations we have made relate to basics, like offices and lighting, but take no account of investment or supply chains, which is a much bigger area.
"The figures that companies declare are a mess. We need clear reporting standards. These guidelines exist already and the Government must make them mandatory."
John Cridland, the Deputy Director-General of the CBI, said that it would be impractical to introduce a mandatory emissions reporting standard.
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