UK's Blair says practical steps needed in climate fight

LONDON (Reuters) - Energy efficiency will do far more to help the world to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the short-term than carbon markets or unproven new technology, a report commissioned by Britain's Tony Blair said on Monday.

Countries must urgently take practical steps to save energy, by raising levels of renewable power and making cars, houses and factories more efficient, the study said.

That will cut the emissions blamed for global warming more quickly than waiting for emissions trading markets to improve or new technology to be developed, the report added.

The former prime minister urged countries meeting at the Major Economies Forum in Italy this week and in Copenhagen for U.N. climate talks in December to "set the world on a new path" by 2020.

"The important thing is actually to agree the measures that people will be taking," Blair told reporters. "In the short-term that is what will make the difference.

"We will get out of Copenhagen an interim target (for cutting emissions), whatever it may be, in the 25-40 percent range. The thing that will make the difference is people saying: 'What is more, this is how we do it'."

Three-quarters of the emissions cuts needed by 2020 could be achieved through measures available today, Blair said.

The world will need to spend about $1 trillion a year between now and 2050 on energy-saving measures, according to the report, which Blair published jointly with the Climate Group, a London-based group which campaigns for a low carbon economy.

It set out seven "tried and tested" measures that will help cut global emissions and protect the planet from the effects of climate change, such as rising sea levels and extreme weather.

Nearly 40 percent of the cuts could come from the power sector, the report said. Governments should offer financial incentives such as feed-in tariffs to those generating energy from renewable sources such as solar and wind power.

A further quarter of the cuts could come from more efficient cars powered by electricity or hydrogen fuel cells. Making industry more efficient could contribute 19 percent of the cuts, with improvements to buildings adding another 17 percent.

Governments and private companies must also start investing heavily in technology that will help cut emissions beyond 2020.

Nuclear power stations, solar power and coal-fired plants fitted with carbon capture and storage technology will all be needed in the longer term, the report said.

(Editing by Janet Lawrence)