The tax would net the government $234 million next financial year and $347 million the year after on current estimates.

Greens Leader Christine Milne is expected to draw a direct connection between the coal mining industry’s responsibility to combat climate change when she announces the policy, according to The Age newspaper.

“The coal industry is driving global warming and increasing the intensity of extreme weather events that are hurting communities and costing our economy billions of dollars,” she reportedly said.

“It is time the coal industry started contributing to the cost of preparing for extreme weather and adapting to climate change.

“Given that the current price of thermal coal is around $US90 a tonne, a $2t levy is clearly affordable for the industry.”

The money raised from the tax would go towards activities such as building flood levees, permanent bushfire breaks, risk-management studies and land acquisition.