The Clean Energy Solutions Index 2025 suggested that Australians were often more comfortable with clean energy when it was framed not only as an environmental shift, but as an economic one too.
That pattern was especially clear for industry solutions.
Across the 11 solutions measured and which make up the one-number score, the national deep support score was 60 out of 100. Within the industry category, renewable energy component manufacturing stood out at 67/100, ahead of green metals at 59/100 and well above gas-free industry conversion at 51/100.
What matters here is not just the level of support, but the reasons behind it.
Clean industry support appears strongest where the benefit is seen to be national and practical.
The strongest industry result in CESI 2025 was manufacturing renewable energy components in Australia, which covered things like wind turbine parts, batteries, solar panels and transmission line cables. They’ll serve as the backbone of the contemporary energy grid we’re rapidly building.
The reasons Australians gave for supporting it were telling:
- 69% said it would reduce reliance on imports and support Australian industry
- 67% said it would benefit the economy and create jobs
- 31% said it was better for the environment
There is still underlying support for environmental reasons, but economic resilience, local capability and national self-reliance matter more. In other words, the public case for this kind of clean industry appears strongest when it sounds more like something Australia could make, own and benefit from.
That aligns with one of the report’s headline insights: solutions associated with domestic manufacturing tended to attract higher support because they appeared to offer dual benefits. They were seen as contributing to the energy transition while also strengthening Australian industry and creating jobs.
This lower score is consistent across all four components of support:
Green metals points to a similar logic
The result for green metals was more moderate, at 59/100, but the underlying pattern was similar.
Australians who supported establishing a green metals industry most often pointed to:
This lower score is consistent across all four components of support:
- 60% saying it was a long-term solution for Australia’s future
- 54% saying it would benefit the economy and create jobs
- 52% saying it was better for the environment
Green metals appeared to make more sense when understood as part of Australia’s future economic position. The support pattern suggests Australians are open to clean industry when it looks like a source of long-term capability, not just a compliance or transition cost.
The contrast with gas-free industry is important
The third industry solution helps explain the pattern more clearly.
Gas-free industry conversion scored 51/100, making it the weakest of the three industry solutions. Support for it was driven mainly by environmental reasons:
- 64% said it was better for the environment
- 59% said it reduces emissions
- 58% said it meant less pollution
But opposition was anchored in economic and practical concerns:
- 66% said gas is important for industry and business
- 60% said it will increase costs for consumers
- 51% said gas is cheaper
That contrast is revealing.
Where domestic manufacturing and green metals were often understood as job-creating and nation-building, gas-free industry conversion appeared more likely to be understood as costly, uncertain or disruptive.
What this suggests
CESI 2025 points to a fairly clear public logic on clean industry.
Support was strongest where the transition was associated with things Australians tend to value in practical terms:
- local jobs
- stronger industry
- less reliance on imports
- a sense of national capability
- a long-term economic future
For decision-makers and advocates for climate action, know what motivates people is one of the most useful industry findings in the Index.
“There is still underlying support for environmental reasons, but economic resilience, local capability and national self-reliance matter more. In other words, the public case for this kind of clean industry appears strongest when it sounds more like something Australia could make, own and benefit from.”
– Dr Rebecca Huntley.
Source note:
Findings are based on the Clean Energy Solutions Index 2025, developed by 89 Degrees East in collaboration with Boundless, which measured Australians’ deep support for 11 clean energy solutions across home, infrastructure and industry categories. For full access to the data, please visit our publicly available, interactive dashboard.
