Beyond Zero Emissions: Recommendation

Last updated in 2024.

Giving Green recommends Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) as one of Australia's most effective organisations combating climate change. Their evidence-based theory of change is driving comprehensive and actionable research worthy of support.

Australia has many comparative advantages in decarbonising emissions from heavy industry. Thus, investments in this area can lead to reduced global emissions and a stronger Australian economy. However, the path to implementing needed changes is often fraught with political potholes and policy detours.

Beyond Zero Emissions develops plans that the government can adapt to advance new clean industries, decarbonise domestic and export emissions, and leverage promising economic opportunities. Beyond Zero Emissions’ policy expertise can contribute to substantive policy changes and industry actions to significantly reduce carbon emissions in Australia and globally.

Beyond Zero Emissions’ ambitious plan for accelerating the development of green industry in Australia would impact Australia’s climate output and reduce hard-to-decarbonise industrial emissions worldwide. Beyond Zero Emissions reported a funding gap of $1.4 million AUD for the 2024 period and would use additional funds to further expand its policy impacts. 

For more information, please see our deep dive research report and a summary below.

What is Beyond Zero Emissions?

Launched in 2006, Beyond Zero Emissions is an Australia-based nonprofit and think-tank focused on industry engagement, policy research, and advocacy that seeks to transition Australia to a zero-emissions economy. 

How can Beyond Zero Emissions help combat climate change?

Beyond Zero Emissions aims to combat climate change by engaging with industry, producing policy research, and engaging in public policy advocacy. It focuses on decarbonising Australian heavy industry and heavy industry exports, which comprise a substantial and neglected portion of Australian emissions. 

What does Beyond Zero Emissions do?

Beyond Zero Emissions engages with industry and experts to identify large-scale methods of decarbonising sectors of the Australian economy. This research contributes to specific policy proposals with the government at state and federal levels (prioritising exported emissions, the largest portion of Australia’s emissions profile).

What evidence is there of Beyond Zero Emissions’ effectiveness?

BZE has made significant progress in passing climate policy and accelerating critical climate-relevant projects. Experts we interviewed cited BZE’s work on Renewable Energy Industrial Precincts (REIPs) and the National Supergrid as integral to the creation of recent REIPs and renewable energy zones. Experts further cited Beyond Zero Emissions’ Million Jobs Plan as having a significant impact on climate policy at both federal and state levels. 

More recently, BZE’s policy proposals have fast-tracked $3 billion of government investment in transition projects, with the federal Rewiring the Nation program likely being influenced by BZE’s National Supergrid report. Similarly, a number of legislative and funding recommendations from BZE’s REIP program have been adopted in the National Net Zero Authority, the National Reconstruction Fund, and the Powering the Regions fund.

BZE’s future work seems highly promising. Their ongoing work in research and engagement to inform policy details of the Australian Renewable Industry Package, a potential $100 billion investment, pushes for an ambitious clean industry export strategy which, if implemented, could power some of Australia’s most impactful and economically beneficial work on climate.

BZE is also recognised as a significant contributor to the climate movement at large. In 2020, BZE was awarded Best International Climate Change and Environment Think Tank by the UK’s Prospect Magazine and received the Environmental Philanthropy Award from Philanthropy Australia.

What would Beyond Zero Emissions do with your donation?

Donating to Beyond Zero Emissions will advance their successful work advocating for the deployment of Renewable Energy Industrial Precincts and support policy impacts relating to clean Australian exports, cleantech supply chains, and industrial decarbonisation. Funding would also be used on projects to counter disinformation about clean technologies.

Why is Giving Green excited about Beyond Zero Emissions?

Beyond Zero Emissions supports green industry development in Australia in an economically sustainable way and focuses on high-scale solutions. We think that there is strong evidence to support its theory of change, that Beyond Zero Emissions has positioned itself as a leader in the Australian climate space, and that it is implementing highly impactful work. These factors drive our funding recommendation. 

Donate to Beyond Zero Emissions to advance the decarbonisation of industrial emissions in Australia and worldwide.

Giving Green is part of IDInsight Inc., a charitable, tax-exempt organization. This is a non-partisan analysis (study or research) and is provided for educational purposes.