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AUCKLAND Taxpayers will be stuck with 84 percent of the bill for meeting New Zealands obligation under the Kyoto Protocol, while farmers and large industrial emitters get hefty subsidies, a report out reveals.

The report on the Governments planned changes to the emissions trading scheme by the Sustainability Councils executive director Simon Terry and economist Geoff Bertram, says farmers will be subsidised to the tune of $1.1 billion by the end of 2012 while large emitters get nearly $500 million.

Kyoto requires New Zealand to take financial responsibility for any increase in its emissions over 1990 levels during the five years from 2008 to 2012 inclusive.

Estimates are that we will exceed that target by 76 million tonnes, which would cost $2.3 billion (at the carbon price of $30 a tonne, the report assumes).

The cost gets much bigger beyond 2012 if the national target gets tougher and emissions continue to climb.

Households will pay just over half, Mr Terry and Dr Bertram say.

Combined with small and medium-sized businesses and transport operators, they will pay 90 per cent of the charges the ETS imposes, though they are only responsible for 30 per cent of total emissions.

Changes to the ETS being considered by a parliamentary select committee lighten the burden on

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Tags: Carbon Emission, Carbon Price, New Zealand Carbon