CLIMATE campaigners are calling for a change in the law to force one of Hampshire's biggest companies to come clean about its contribution to global warming.

Lyndhurst-based chemicals giant Ineos, Britain's largest private company, may also be one of Britain's biggest polluters, according to charity Christian Aid.

It estimates Ineos may produce as much pollution as a small country, but can't be sure because it says the New Forest based firm won't own up to its full impact on the climate.

Ineos bosses say they disclose everything they're legally obliged to and are cutting pollution across their operation, which makes products vital to many green schemes.

A Christian Aid spokesman said: "It seems reasonable to assume that INEOS' emissions amount to millions, if not tens of millions of CO2 every year.

This, in turn, suggests that INEOS' climate impact exceeds that of many small developing countries.

"Yet despite the company's vast scale, it manages to keep an extremely low profile, releasing only snippets of information about its emissions of greenhouse gases.

" The fondness for a low profile is shared by majority shareholder Jim Ratcliffe, Britain's tenth richest man with an estimated personal fortune of £3.

3 billion, who has been dubbed Britain's most private billionaire.

Ineos has, admitted that when it fitted a "treatment unit" to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases from one of its factories in Runcorn, Cheshire, the UK's annual emissions of manmade greenhouse gases fell by an astonishing two per cent.

Christian Aid is calling for a change in the law to force companies to own-up publicly to their emissions.

Andrew Pendleton, Christian Aid's senior policy officer said: "I don't know if it is the biggest polluter in the UK or one of the biggest in the world and we won't know unless it publishes the figures.

Climate change "You can't have a coherent strategy on climate change without a company like Ineos being required by law to publish its emissions in the same way they're required to publish financial accounts.

" A global chemicals giant with an £18 billion turnover, the Lyndhurst HQ are the smallest of all Ineos' offices, employing just 150 of the firm's global 16,500-strong workforce, spread across 73 sites in 18 countries.

The nearest plants are in north-west England and Scotland, with the majority more planned in Asia, including China.

They produce more than 50 million tonnes of chemicals a year.

Ineos products are everywhere, from the credit card in your wallet to the air conditioning in your car, the chlorine in the water to the plastic packaging around food.

A company spokesman for said: "We have had an open and constructive meeting with Christian Aid and we are extremely surprised that they have released this statement.

" "We do disclose our emissions to the Environment Agency as we are required to by law.

We have made a number of acquisitions so it is not possible at this time to report the figures.

"We recognise that we are a major energy user, we produce a vast range of products that help society.

We also have a significant role to play in mitigating climate change through our products.

"We are doing a number of things to combat climate change.

We are looking at our own production processes, we move product by rail rather than road if we can.

We invest in technology like biofuels - we're starting to invest in bio-diesel which will help all society to reduce its emissions."

We are investing in an energy from waste plant at Runcorn which will provide around 20 per cent of the site's energy requirements."