THAT WAS EASY:

While the options ultimately involve a range of technology mixes, the study finds common near-term -- and ambitious -- "priority actions" between now and 2030 that would help regardless of the ultimate trajectory.

They include:

50 million electric vehicles on U.S. roads and several million public charging stations nationwide.

More than doubling the share of electric heat pumps in homes to reach around 23%, and tripling their use in commercial buildings.

Huge growth in wind and solar-generating capacity, accompanied by a roughly 60% expansion of high-voltage transmission capacity.

Begin building out a nationwide CO2 transportation and underground storage basins.

Investing in a suite of less mature technologies that could be significantly scaled up after 2030, such as CO2 capture in a range of industries, hydrogen and synthetic fuel production from clean power sources, next-wave bioenergy crops, direct air capture and more.

The bottom line: The 2050 target is achievable and affordable with "proactive policy and action," said Princeton University assistant professor Jesse Jenkins, a co-author of the study.

Jenkins said that in the 2020s alone, it would save tens of thousands of lives and create at least a half-million new jobs.

The study sees hundreds of thousands of premature deaths potentially being avoided over the next 30 years thanks to reductions in air pollution, including fine particulate matter.

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