The finding is the part of the CDP - an international NGO which works with market forces including 722 institutional investors, Global 500 Climate Change Report 2013, released on Thursday.

Timing of the report assumes significance when experts including scientists from across the world are fine-tuning the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) fifth assessment report (AR5) which will strengthen the scientific case for climate change action. The AR5 is expected to come out later this month.

Since emission of GHGs contribute to global warming, the CDP report may give handle to growing economies like India and China to seek substantial action for reducing emission at the end of developed countries including US, Japan and EU nations.

The report is co-written by CDP, formerly known as Carbon Disclosure Project and professional services from PwC. These 50 highest GHGs emitting companies primarily operate in energy, materials and utilities sectors in different countries.

"The carbon emitted by these 50 highest emitting companies, which primarily operate in the energy, materials and utilities sectors, has risen by 1.65 per cent to 2.54 billion metric tons over the past four years. This increase is equivalent to adding more than 8.5 million pickup trucks to the streets, or the supply of electricity to 6 million homes for a year", said an official statement, issued from United Kingdom.

The report provides the most authoritative evaluation of corporate progress on climate change. The analysis is based on the climate and energy data of 389 companies listed on the FTSE Global 500 Equity Index, collected by CDP at the request of 722 institutional investors representing US $87 trillion in invested capital.

Titled Sector insights: what is driving climate change action in the world's largest companies, the new publication includes industry-specific analysis which shows that the five highest emitting companies from each sector have seen their emissions increase by an average of 2.3% since 2009.

The press statement quoted Paul Simpson, chief executive at CDP, as saying: "Many countries are demonstrating signs of recovery following the global economic downturn. However, clear scientific evidence and increasingly severe weather events are sending strong signals that we must pursue routes to economic prosperity whilst reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.

"It is imperative that big emitters improve their performance in this regard and governments provide more incentives to make this happen. The corporate world is an aggregator of both risks and opportunities from this challenge, so this report is written for businesses, investors and policy makers that want a clear understanding of how the world's largest listed companies can transform themselves in order to protect our natural capital."

While the biggest emitters present the greatest opportunity for large-scale change, the report identifies opportunities for all Global 500 companies to help build resilience to climate and policy shocks by significantly reducing the amount of carbon dioxide they produce each year.

The statement on the CDP report was issued by Peter Browning, managing director of the Browning and Associates Limited, UK.