The Clean Energy Solutions Index is about moving Australia beyond the climate wars by grounding our clean energy future in the shared values, aspirations and support of the Australian people.
The Index is a unique and powerful tool that delves deeper into public sentiment.
Designed by 89 Degrees East with support from Boundless Earth, the Index provides a comprehensive picture of Australians’ support for specific clean energy solutions, including barriers to their support.
Australia is at a critical point in its transition to a clean energy future.
The need for evidence-based, community-informed leadership has never been greater and the Clean Energy Solutions Index has been created to meet this moment.
This annual research programme marks a shift from polarisation on climate change to evidence-based progress on the clean energy transition.
The Clean Energy Solutions Index helps leaders understand where public support is robust, and where more engagement is needed.
Now in its second annual wave, the Index tracks how public sentiment is shifting across all 11 solutions and six states. With two years of data now available, decision-makers can compare 2025 and 2026 findings to identify emerging trends and guide responsive, long-term planning.
What makes the Clean Energy Solutions Index unique?
To measure the level of deep support for clean energy solutions across Australia, 89 Degrees East conducts fieldwork in the form of a 10-minute online survey, which is completed by more than 3,000 Australian citizens nationally in each wave. The survey includes questions relevant to the 4 key metrics that make up the Index as well as a series of non-Index questions. These non-Index questions are contextual and are included to add further depth and understanding to the responses. 11 clean energy solutions across three categories – home solutions, infrastructure solutions and industry solutions – are measured and evaluated. In the survey, the order of solutions is randomised to avoid any potential order bias.
The total sample of survey respondents is weighted to align with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) population benchmarks, which ensures that the sample is nationally representative of the adult population by age, gender and state. The study covers all six states in Australia (Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory are excluded), and the sample is boosted in Tasmania and Queensland to achieve robust state-level samples for analysis. To ensure comparability of results across waves, consistent sampling and methodology is applied each year.
The data collected from the survey creates the one-number support score for each solution. Each support score is made up of the following four key metrics:
The score is not an average of support, but rather a composite of these four metrics. Each metric is weighted equally except for the metric about speaking positively about a solution. This metric is down-weighted, at 85% of the others, to reflect the general reticence among Australians when it comes to talking about topics that seem to require expert knowledge and appear to be politically divisive.
The overall national Index score is the average of these 11 solution support scores across the four metrics of deep support. Along with the national score, the Index also calculates the one-number support score in each of the six states using this framework.
This research was conducted by 89 Degrees East. As a member of both The Research Society and The Australian Polling Council, 89 Degrees East adheres to the highest ethical and privacy standards.
The Clean Energy Solutions Index is a joint initiative of Boundless Earth and 89 Degrees East.
The Index provides detailed insights into public attitudes, aiming to support informed, effective strategies for accelerating Australia’s clean energy transition.
Boundless Earth (Boundless) aims to drive clean energy solutions at the urgency and scale the climate crisis demands.
Boundless uses the levers of philanthropy, investment and direct advocacy to make change and get Australia on the path to becoming a renewable energy superpower by 2030.
The Clean Energy Solutions Index reflects Boundless’ commitment to driving action and investment through data and insight. From an ambitious idea backed by Mike Cannon-Brookes, Boundless has grown into a dedicated and values-driven organisation that works collaboratively with changemakers across the country.
89 Degrees East is a national data, strategy and communications agency with more than a decade of experience delivering research-led projects for corporate, government, industry and advocacy organisations.
Led by renowned social researcher and author Dr Rebecca Huntley, 89 Degrees East research brings deep expertise in understanding social trends and public attitudes to climate change and energy.
Driven by a commitment to working with partners who contribute positively to society and the environment, 89 Degrees East is proud of this close collaboration with Boundless Earth to design and deliver the Clean Energy Solutions Index.
Research led by Dr Rebecca Huntley. Rebecca is one of Australia’s leading social researchers on community attitudes to renewable energy and climate change. She is a Fellow of the Research Society of Australia and has authored several books including How to Talk About Climate Change in a Way that Makes a Difference.
Rebecca leads research at 89 Degrees East and she oversaw the development of the Index’s methodology and analysis.
The 2026 Index findings are now available, including year-on-year comparisons across all 11 solutions and six states.
