Beyond Zero Emissions: Deep Dive

Download our deep dive report on Beyond Zero Emissions:

Summary

Giving Green classifies Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) as one of Australia’s top climate nonprofits in 2024. Giving Green previously recommended Beyond Zero Emissions in our 2021 round of Australian recommendations. 

Australia’s green industrial exports are a lever by which Australia could reduce a significant portion of world emissions in sectors that most other countries would struggle to decarbonise. For example, instead of exporting iron ore, Australia could export decarbonised iron (green iron) smelted with Australia’s abundant renewable energy, something very few countries can achieve. Beyond Zero Emissions can help accelerate the development of green industry in Australia by identifying and filling government and industry policy gaps. We think their research and policy efforts can help make green industrial production significantly more likely to develop at scale in Australia. Achieving this would drive down the costs of a number of green industrial goods worldwide and foster innovation that could be utilised in other countries. 

Beyond Zero Emissions has ambitious plans to accelerate the development of green industry in Australia. If implemented, Beyond Zero Emissions' recommendations could significantly reduce hard-to-decarbonise industrial emissions globally and produce strong economic benefits for Australia. Beyond Zero Emissions reported a funding gap of $1.4 million AUD for its research and policy work and would use additional funds to further this work.

• ​​What is Beyond Zero Emissions? Beyond Zero Emissions is an Australian nonprofit and think tank focused on addressing the gaps in Australian climate policy. In particular, Beyond Zero Emissions works to accelerate the development of low-emissions heavy industry in Australia and reduce emissions from Australia’s industrial exports, such as iron ore and aluminium. These industrial export emissions are a large and comparatively neglected segment of Australia’s emissions profile. 

• How can Beyond Zero Emissions reduce greenhouse gases? Beyond Zero Emissions' research is used to inform Australian policymakers and industry actors. Beyond Zero Emissions' research also highlights the economic feasibility and economic advantages of major reductions in carbon emissions. These include macro benefits, such as improved economic growth, and micro benefits, such as greater employment in affected regional communities. Australian policy insiders interviewed by Giving Green have emphasised that focusing on economic advantage is critical for climate policy advocacy work to gain traction in Australia. Beyond Zero Emissions identifies some of the largest-scale opportunities Australia can exploit, such as accelerating the growth of Australia’s green export industries. In addition to focusing on Australia’s domestic emissions, Beyond Zero Emissions emphasises strategies that support the development of Australia as a major green energy exporter. This approach is especially important because export emissions dominate Australia’s emissions profile.

• Giving Green’s method of analysis: In assessing Beyond Zero Emissions, Giving Green engaged in a short literature review and an extensive series of interviews with climate policy experts, government policymakers, advocacy practitioners, academics, foundations, and think tanks. In addition to speaking directly with Beyond Zero Emissions, Giving Green also reviewed publicly available information including Beyond Zero Emissions' policy reports, website, and recent media coverage. Giving Green also drew insights from our report, High-Impact Climate Giving in Australia, which identifies some of the highest-impact strategies in Australian climate work. Notably, in our survey of experts, Beyond Zero Emissions was nominated as an outstanding Australian climate NGO more often than any other organisation. 

• Room for more funding: We conclude that Beyond Zero Emissions has room to impactfully deploy more funding, and could deliver substantial returns from additional marginal investment. Additional funding would enable Beyond Zero Emissions to expand its successful work advocating for the deployment of Renewable Energy Industrial Precincts and sustain its policy work on clean Australian Exports, cleantech supply chains, and industrial decarbonisation. Additional funding could also be directed to land-use mapping projects that counter disinformation about renewables.

• Co-benefits and co-costs: We find Beyond Zero Emissions' work to have substantial co-benefits. These include economic benefits for Australia, employment benefits for Australian workers in regional communities, and air quality benefits for both Australia and its industrial export partners. We also identify co-costs incurred by its work, including employment loss in some of Australia’s export partners, and potential economic costs to the Australian government stemming from investment in green industries.

• Key uncertainties: Our key uncertainties include the expected tractability of green industry advocacy, the dependence of industrial strategies on climate action in trade partners, and uncertainties over whether Australian exports will become cost competitive in international markets.

• Bottom line/next steps: Based on Beyond Zero Emissions' track record of wins, its strategic and high-leverage approach, and the tractability of its work in the current political environment, we conclude that Beyond Zero Emissions is one of the most effective organisations in Australia working to address climate. We consider Beyond Zero Emissions to be a highly promising philanthropic funding option.