European concerns over oil price volatility rose again last week when Middle East tensions sent oil prices up to $27 a barrel, raising fears an energy price spike could nip worldwide economic recovery in the bud.

The 15-nation EU imports 50 percent of its energy and that could grow to 70 percent in 20 or 30 years. It is attempting to increase output of renewable energy, such as wind or solar power, but these make up only a tiny percentage of energy use.

At the same time, the EU is committed, under the Kyoto treaty against global warming, to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases produced by burning fossil fuels.

A possible alternative, nuclear power, is regarded with suspicion by many Europeans because of the problem of dealing with radioactive waste and disasters such as the 1986 Chernobyl accident in Ukraine.

The Belgian government recently proposed shutting down the nation's nuclear reactors by 2025, following similar moves by Sweden and Germany.

But the EU forum in Pamplona, northern Spain, heard surprise support for nuclear energy.

"I think we have to take another look at nuclear - a very sober look at nuclear," said Donald Johnston, secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), saying this was his personal view.

ADVANTAGES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY

"We cannot see a future ahead and intend to meet the Kyoto targets if we don't re-examine nuclear in a very serious way."

"Nuclear has many advantages. Nuclear energy is plentiful. It produces only negligible amounts of greenhouse gases... it is also very attractive from a security of supply perspective," he added.

Johnston won support from Loyola de Palacio, the EU energy commissioner. She said the EU must foster renewable energies and make more efficient use of energy, but added: "We would commit a very grave error if the EU renounced the use of nuclear energy as, regrettably, is being proposed in some cases.

"In my opinion, we will have to choose: Either we fulfil Kyoto and keep nuclear (energy) or we renounce Kyoto and abolish nuclear energy," she said.

BP Chief Executive John Browne said there was no shortage of oil or gas. Proven reserves now were 70 percent greater than they were 30 years ago, he said.

The best way to achieve energy security was to establish a wide range of secure sources of supply for oil and gas. These sources existed, he said, saying that as well as the Middle East, the oil Europe needed in the next decade would come from West Africa and the Caspian Sea.

Worldwide renewable energy would provide no more than two percent of total energy needs by 2010 and perhaps three percent by 2020, he said. "That means that in a growing energy market oil and gas will be the key sources of supply for the foreseeable future," he said.

David Garman, assistant U.S. secretary for energy efficiency, said the United States was focusing its efforts on researching new energy technologies in the laboratory to try to drive down their cost.

Under a project launched this year, the U.S. government is funding research into fuel cells, which use hydrogen to produce electricity without creating pollution as petrol engines do.

In 10 or 15 years, Garman said, the United States would know whether it had the technical capability to put a fuel cell vehicle on the market. But he said he could not envision the conversion of the whole car fleet to fuel cells before 2060 or 2080, "perhaps even later".