LONDON, June 20 (UPI) -- London said everyone needs to share the burden to advance a green economy though business leaders said few can afford to invest in a low-carbon future.
So-called green taxes in the United Kingdom are intended to fund efforts to generate about 30 percent of the country's electricity from renewable energy by 2020.
Business leaders signaled they weren't willing to invest capital in cutting emissions because of the tax measure, London newspaper The Daily Telegraph reports.
Critics say a struggling economy creates concerns about sinking more cash into green energy. The priority, they said, is making enough profit to stay in business.
John Cridland, director general of the Confederation of British Industry, had described the green tax as "profoundly troubling."
A spokesman for the British Department of Energy and Climate Change said all parts of the country's economy must play a role in a greener future.
British Energy Minister Charles Hendry had told delegates at the CBI Energy conference in London last week that his government was committed to a low-carbon economy.
