Brussels (Platts)--20Feb2013/758 am EST/1258 GMT

The European Commission plans to publish a green paper on ideas for EU energy and climate policy to 2030 by the end of March, EC spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen told reporters in Brussels Wednesday.

This consultation paper is to look at the role of targets and how they interact, as well as how to use energy and climate policy to increase competitiveness, she said.

The EU has binding 2020 targets to increase renewable energy use and cut emissions, plus a non-binding 2020 goal to improve energy efficiency.

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It also has a non-binding goal to cut emissions by at least 80% by 2050, but no targets yet for between 2020 and 2050.

"We need to launch a reflection on going beyond 2020, [in part] because of the long investment cycles involved. For investors 2020 is already tomorrow," Ahrenkilde Hansen said.

"Cost-effective energy and climate policies are at the heart of a competitive economy," she added.

EU commissioners had a "substantial orientation debate" on a 2030 energy and climate framework at their weekly meeting Wednesday, led by EC President Jose Manuel Barroso, EU climate action commissioner Connie Hedegaard and EU energy commissioner Gunther Oettinger, Ahrenkilde Hansen said.

"We will be taking into account the sensitive economic and political contexts in the balancing of our package," she said.

"In particular we will be analyzing what drives rising energy prices, including taxes and levies, for example, which are crucial for competitiveness," she said.

The EC would also be "keeping an eye" on the global climate talks, she added.

The EC will follow the green paper with an impact assessment and a formal policy paper by the end of the year, Ahrenkilde Hansen said.

--Siobhan Hall, siobhan_hall@platts.com

--Edited by Alisdair Bowles, alisdair_bowles@platts.com

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