"The nations at this summit generate more than half of the world’s man-made green house gases but are also home to over a billion people who live on less than $1 a day, where greater economic development and poverty reduction must continue," said Mr Oxley, the study’s author.
"They are looking for real progress without self harm for the region’s people and that is what the multi-track process offers."
The multi-track strategy allows for each nation to develop a strategy to tackle climate change that best suits it, giving nations more flexibility to reach emission reduction through a variety of means.
Mr Oxley says that pushing for hard targets when there is no consensus on the process for reaching them is "a recipe for failure".
Tying some of the leading APEC economies, such as Australia, China, Japan, Korea and the US, closer together on climate change could yield better progress globally.
"An APEC regional consensus would be a very good start towards real progress," Mr Oxley said.
"It could mean a greater chance at achieving results."