Appetite for change - Accountancy Nieuws

pwc.com/appetiteforchangeSixty two per cent of business executives, however, believetheir governments have not created clear economic signalsabout environmental issues. Fifty seven per cent feel theirgovernments do not have consistent, long-term taxes andregulations (see fig. 14 on page 23). For example, althoughincentives are popular in theory, 62 per cent of businesseshave difficulty understanding what incentives exist (see fig. 13on page 21). When they do discover relevant incentives, 55per cent of business executives are discouraged from actuallyapplying by the perceived administrative burden. With theseexperiences in mind, it is not surprising that 71 per cent ofexecutives believe that existing incentives do not changeenvironmental behaviour.Businesses want clear long-term investment signalsand input into the formulation of direction and derivativepolicies. Ninety six per cent of the survey respondents agreethat an important element of an effective global climatechange deal is sending a clear long-term signal that supportsinvestment in low carbon technology (see fig. 6 on page 15).Incentives remain the favoured way of sending such a signal(see fig. 2 on page 9) despite the difficulties businesseshave with existing incentives (see fig. 13 on page 21). Eightysix per cent of Spanish executives believe there should betax incentives for becoming carbon neutral, for example,even though the stop-and-start implementation of recentsubsidies has created a volatile solar power market (see fig.15 opposite).Figure 15Should the tax system include incentives to become carbon neutral?Total (%)UKFranceGermanySpainSwedenNetherlandsCzech RepublicCanadaUSARussiaBrazilChinaIndiaSouth AfricaAustralia23 6736 508 8624 648643 5343 467 6828 6228 529024 7210 8810 8427 6348 45Depends on extent of incentivesVery/fairly good ideaWhat do you think of the idea that the tax system, as it applies to companies,should include incentives for companies to become carbon neutral, to encourageenvironmentally-beneficial activity in the business community? Base: Total (654)Businesses want clear long-terminvestment signals and input intothe formulation of those signals andderivative policies.Appetite for change. PricewaterhouseCoopers. 25