Bridging the "Perception Gap" - measuring deep public support for clean energy technologies
The Challenge
Australia's energy transition needs more than agreement in principle. Agreeing with it is not the same as backing it: someone can call clean energy a good idea, still oppose a project near them, and never mention it to a neighbour. Decisions about transmission lines, wind farms and gas-free homes are being made now and carry decades of consequence. Their technical and economic case is well covered. Social support is not. Boundless Earth needed to know how deeply Australians back each solution, and whether that support is stable enough to underpin policy, investment and community decisions.
Our REsponse
9 Degrees East designed the Index and runs it annually. Wave 2 fieldwork ran from 8 April to 22 April 2026, a 10-minute online survey with n=3,151 Australian citizens, weighted to the adult population by age, gender and state. Four metrics per solution, good for Australia, personal support, perceived community support and willingness to talk positively, combine into a one-number score out of 100, where 70 is the threshold for genuine social licence. 'Willingness to talk positively' is down-weighted to 85% of the others. Significance testing at the 95% confidence level. Results are compared with Wave 1 (2025, n=3,162) on a consistent methodology.
More than 9,000 Australians have taken part across the pilot and the two published waves. The 2026 wave covers 11 solutions, six states and every major demographic cut, released as a free public report, a media release and an open interactive dashboard.
For the first time the Index can track change. National deep support sits at 61 out of 100, up one point on 2025. Electric vehicles recorded the largest single-year gain of any solution, up 6 points to 50, and renewable energy transmission rose 5 points to 61. State scores run from 69 in Tasmania to 58 in Queensland. Policymakers, funders and industry now have year-on-year evidence of which solutions are gaining ground and which are stalling.
Deep support follows the household budget. The solutions Australians back hardest are the ones with a visible financial benefit: home solar at 82 and batteries at 75. Gas-free home conversion sat flat at 48. Support rose even as the share of Australians calling climate change personally important dipped from 80% to 78%. Cost of living and energy security are now doing work environmental concern once did on its own.
2026 Clean Energy Solutions Index report Interactive CESI dashboard comparing 2025 and 2026 by solution, state and demographic. Website cleanenergysolutionsindex.com.au, including key findings, how-to-use guides and FAQs. Ongoing news and insights articles drawing on the Index data. Tailored briefings for policymakers, industry and advocates.
Insights
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