The burden of green taxes on businesses has doubled under the Coalition , according to official figures . The Treasury imposed £2.5billion of levies in 2010-11 – but the takings are predicted to reach £4.6billion in 2015-16 , it emerged yesterday . Business groups have warned the taxes could lead to job losses . There are also fears that more of the costs will be passed on to customers . A written statement from Treasury minister Priti Patel stated that the Government is 'committed to increasing the proportion of tax revenue accounted for by environmental taxes ' to 'encourage positive behaviour change ' and make firms cut carbon emissions . The burden of green taxes on businesses has doubled under the Coalition . Pictured is the Treasury building in London . Environment campaigners say such taxes on firms ' energy use set an example to other countries and will help tackle climate change – but critics point out that many of them are specific to the UK , which could encourage businesses that use a lot of energy to move abroad . One cost that has risen substantially over the past five years is the Climate Change Levy , a charge on every kilowatt hour of electricity and gas firms use to generate energy . Two years ago , another tax – the Carbon Price Floor – was introduced on every ton of carbon that firms emit . These two levies now cost businesses a combined £2billion . Larger firms have also been hit by the Energy Efficiency Scheme to further reduce carbon emissions . The charge , introduced in 2010 , will bring in £800million this year . Another three green taxes – on landfill and mining , and a European levy on carbon – have remained steady since 2010 , costing firms £1.8billion a year . Gareth Stace , of the manufacturers ' group EEF , said : 'These figures prove the point that we have been making for some time , namely that UK industry – especially energy-intensive companies – are paying a very heavy price . 'We urgently need to see competitiveness at the heart of energy and climate change policy to place us on a level playing field with even our European competitors who are not facing these bills , let alone the rest of the world . Failure to do this by the next government , if it continues to use carbon taxes as a revenue-raising tool , could only result in lost jobs and investment . ' A Treasury spokesman said : 'This Government is committed to creating a tax system that is simple , fair and creates the right conditions ... we have backed businesses with lower taxes overall , cutting corporation tax , giving employers up to £2,000 off their National Insurance bill and giving small high street businesses £1,000 off their business rates . '
The burden of green taxes on businesses has doubled under the Coalition . Campaigners have now warned the green taxes could lead to job losses . But Mr Abbott said he would not be swayed by such concerns and insisted that Australia was a world leader in renewable energy technology.