Australia has been urged to get offshore wind up and running by 2030 and rule out nuclear energy to make it to net zero on time.
The How To Make Net Zero Happen report by leading researchers calls for more investment from governments and a larger, swifter and more diverse pipeline of projects to go carbon neutral by 2050.
A partnership linking the University of Melbourne and University of Queensland with Princeton University and Nous Group has been researching a faster route to getting homes, business and industry off fossil fuels.
The report rejects nuclear power as too expensive and slow to build, and backs offshore wind as "crucial".
Offshore wind, familiar in Europe but new to Australia, will need large subsidies and long lead times to develop projects, establish supply chains, and provide grid access.
Despite these barriers, Australia must adopt the industry as soon as possible with first power targeted for 2030, the report said.
A second offshore wind development zone, off the coast near Newcastle in the coal-dependent Hunter region, was declared by Energy Minister Chris Bowen on Wednesday.
"We'd expect first power by 2030," Mr Bowen said, after finalising the second of six future offshore wind zones.
"It's a very important part, offshore wind, of our drive to 82 per cent renewables" by 2030, he said.
However, the Net Zero Australia report rejects coastal NSW as a priority because of the high cost of floating platforms and moderate winds.
The Hunter area adds to a much larger zone off Gippsland in Victoria, where international rivals are vying to build turbines powered by winds that rival the North Sea.
But even there, leading contenders don't expect to be up and running until the 2030s.
The researchers warn achieving net zero emissions requires extraordinary cooperation and trust to be built up with households and communities whose landscapes and energy use will change.
Mandatory emissions standards for all road vehicles, starting with cars, need the support of charging infrastructure, particularly in regional areas.
Finding, educating, and employing roughly seven times more workers for the clean energy industry is another urgent challenge.
About 650,000 more workers will be required by mid-century, with significant growth expected between 2030 and 2040.
Many are still at school, and new courses are needed at TAFEs and universities that focus on solar, wind, batteries and alternative fuels.
Mandatory all-electric new build homes and ambitious energy productivity standards for new homes and appliances are also recommended, which will require greater investment in power distribution and more battery storage.
Gas distribution networks to small users are likely to dwindle but without an exit plan for gas some consumers risk being stranded with unusable or expensive gas appliances.
And non-electrified homes could carry a heavier burden and face higher costs, particularly renters and low-income households.
Federal Labor plans to build more than 10,000 kilometres of transmission lines to carry renewable energy but fears are growing about what that will look like and how it will affect farmland.
Transmission developments also affect Indigenous communities and biodiversity, which can delay approvals, the report warns.
"It's not useful to debate whether we will or won't make it," Emeritus Professor Robin Batterham said.
"Our priority should be to plan well, get on with it, and adapt to the lessons we learn."
Benefit-sharing agreements with farmers should be negotiated early to build genuine partnerships instead of fear.
Developments should also involve First Nations as true partners and provide jobs, infrastructure and services, the report said.
