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Only 16 of the companies listed on the FTSE 100 index have reported their basic levels of carbon emissions in line with established standards, charity Christian Aid has claimed.

In a report published today, Christian Aid alleges that Britain's contribution to global carbon emissions is substantially greater than the two per cent cited by the government.

The charity suggests that when the overseas emissions of multinational corporations are taken into account, carbon emissions from UK sources could be one-third above the declared total.

"Our research reveals a truly staggering quantity of unreported carbon dioxide is emitted around the world by the top 100 companies on the London Stock Exchange,' Andrew Pendleton, Christian Aid's senior climate change analyst, commented.

"It is our moral duty to halt the CO2 emissions that place millions of the most vulnerable people in peril from sea level rise, floods, famines and conflict that are being ushered in by the world becoming warmer."

To clarify the extent to which Britain is contributing to global change, Christian Aid's report calls on the government to make voluntary guidelines on how to report emissions mandatory.

"The figures that companies currently declare are such a mess that it is impossible to calculate their total emissions," Mr Pendleton said.

"That is why we need clear reporting standards applied across the board."

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) responded by criticising the methodology of the Christian Aid research

"Under internationally agreed guidelines, carbon dioxide emissions associated with the production of goods are reported in the greenhouse gas inventory of the country in which the goods are produced," a spokesperson said.

"For the UK also to report these emissions would be double-counting. There is therefore no transfer of emissions to the UK when goods are imported. Similarly, the UK is responsible for, and reports in its greenhouse gas emissions inventory, emissions of carbon dioxide associated with the production [of] goods that are subsequently exported by the UK."