Matthew Wright is the former executive director and co-founder of the important Australian climate action group Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) that is described thus by Wikipedia: “Beyond Zero Emissions subscribes to the view that 2011 atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide are at a dangerous level (approximately 390 ppm) and growing and that even when the goal of a zero emissions global economy has been achieved, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide will still need to be reduced to a safe threshold. They state that given 350 ppm was the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide at which the disintegration of the Arctic sea-ice began and a level somewhere between 280 ppm (pre-industrial level) and 325 ppm is considered to be a safe threshold, reducing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide to this threshold is desirable and necessary. They believe that this will be achieved using methods such as large scale implementation of concentrated solar power plants.The group advocates reducing anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions to 'zero and below' by implementing structural changes to stationary energy, transport, agriculture, logging, housing and construction and by implementing energy efficiency measures... Executive Director, Matthew Wright recently won the prestigious Australian Banksia Foundation Award - The Environment Minister's Young Environment Minister's Young Environmentalist of the Year award as well as the Australian Clean Energy Industry award - Ecogen Clean Energy Young Industry Leader Award. For the work of the Beyond Zero Emissions' 10 staff and 350 strong volunteer research and administration team" (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_Zero_Emissions ).
Matthew Wright in calling for a halt on issuing of new gas exploration and extraction licences (2013): “Energy security think-tank Zero Emissions claims fossil gas is dirtier than coal in most applications — including electricity generation, household heating and hot water. Gas is dirty, it’s not clean. Gas is a diversion and not a shortcut. To throw good money after bad on a sunset industry that is seeing costs blow up for Australian consumers is wrong and should be given short shrift. Fossil gas is dirtier than coal when we take into account total lifecycle emissions.” [1].
[1]. Matthew Wright, quoted in Peter Collins, “Call for ban on “dirty” gas”, The Standard, 10 July 2013: http://www.standard.net.au/story/1627486/call-for-ban-on-dirty-gas/ .