Amid a plan by China to start collecting a $1.55 per tonne carbon tax, the measure is becoming more unpopular in countries and regions where it has been imposed or would soon be collected.

The growing opposition is because of its impact on business which will shoulder the levy. It is particularly felt in Australia which at $23 per tonne, would make it almost 23 times higher than India's planned carbon tax of $1.07 per tonne.

Although the Gillard government insists that the ordinary Australian would be better off with the carbon tax, industries are expected to be hit hard by the carbon tax. The government claimed the average Australian household would get $10.10 a week in extra benefits and tax breaks as against the $9.90 they have to pay on higher living costs.

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARES), estimated the impact of the carbon tax at $8,140 yearly per dairy farm.

In the first five years of its implementation, Western Australia dairy farmers are expected to lose $6.5 million, ABARES said, as the carbon tax impacts farmer inputs from fuel to electricity costs.

Another sector that has warned of the negative impact of the carbon tax are Australia's abattoir operators who face shutdowns and loss of jobs since the slaughter houses would need to shutdown two to three weeks every month for processors to reduce production and avoid huge carbon tax bills.

Expected to be worst hit are plants at Yanco, New South Wales, Rockhampton, Townsville and Toowoomba which have annual outputs close to 25,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases generated by their treatment ponds.

However, it is not just Australia's carbon tax which would hurt Aussie companies. Even the European Union's Emission Trading Scheme is expected to cost flag carrier $5 million. The air carrier plans to pass the tax through a $5 levy on one-way tickets to Europe, on top of another $3.50 levy to make up for the $115 million it will pay yearly to the Australian government as carbon tax for domestic flights.

Canadian carriers could charge $1.45 as the carbon tax for a $500 round-trip ticket between Toronto and Frankfurt, Germany. The fee is based on 922 kilogrammes of carbon emissions per person. Although the price of carbon emissions on the European market is $10.50 which should yield a tax of $9.68 for the 922 kg, the tax applies only to 15 per cent of the emissions.

However, Canada, along with India, Russia and Japan are also questioning the EU tax, which took effect on Jan 1, 2012.

Outside Europe and Australia, another carbon tax from New Zealand is due Qantas which criticised the fragmented approach pricing aviation emissions. To address the problem, federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said he prefers that a global tax be collected instead through the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

Likewise, China will boycott the EU carbon tax on airline carbon emissions because it will cost the country's air carriers too much, Under the EU plan, airlines would have to pay $125 a tonne of carbon dioxide above the carrier's allowance. Frequent violators would be prohibited from entering EU's skies.

The U.S. went to the extent of questioning the levy before the European Court of Justice in December 2010 on the arguments that the tax breaches climate change and aviation agreements, but the court upheld the measure.

The EU Climate Action Ministry insisted the tax did not go against international laws or principles of sovereignty.