Action across the 10 areas could achieve between 59 and 96 percent of the cuts in greenhouse gas emissions needed by 2030 to keep global warming below a U.N. maximum of 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, it said.
"We've identified some of the most promising opportunities," Felipe Calderon, a former Mexican president who chairs the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, told Reuters of the 10 goals.
"The most profitable ... is energy efficiency," he said of the report, drawn up by former heads of government, business leaders, economists and other experts.
It urged the Group of 20 major economies to set high global energy efficiency standards in sectors such as lighting, vehicles and buildings, estimating that curbs on energy waste could boost world economic output by up to $18 trillion by 2035.
Investments by cities in cleaner public transport, building insulation and better management of waste could cut greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution and bring savings worth $16.6 trillion by 2050, the report said.
Last year, the Commission said action to combat climate change, mainly shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energies such as solar and wind power, could lift economic growth rather than depress it as many governments fear.
Weighing The Costs
Apart from energy efficiency and cities, Tuesday's report recommended greater focus on forestry, $1 trillion a year in clean energy investment, carbon pricing, infrastructure, low-carbon innovation, business and investor action, limits on aviation and shipping emissions and curbs on hydrofluorocarbons, which are potent greenhouse gases.
Read more at Study Urges 10 Climate Actions to Curb Warming, Lift GDP
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