4 May 2009

Scrap or change emissions scheme, urge farmers

3:29 pm on 4 May 2009

Federated Farmers says the emissions trading scheme should either be scrapped or substantially amended to avoid potential "economic hell" brought on by an ill-conceived scheme.

The comments are part of a submission made at a Parliamentary Select Committee in Wellington which is reviewing the scheme.

The federation says instead of introducing the scheme, the Government should fund forest plantings through leasing or buying farmland and establish a low-level carbon charge that could recover enough revenue to account for any deficit.

It urged the Government to advocate for each country to allocate a percentage of its GDP towards climate change initiatives and non-compliance.

Federated Farmers also asked for the Emissions Trading Amendment Act to be re-written to exclude primary production, and for research to be done to establish whether the scheme would be economically viable.