Europe needs diversified energy resources, including nuclear, natural gas, clean coal and renewable energy, to ensure a green economic development mode, said government and business leaders at the World Economic Forum on Europe and Central Asia on Wednesday.

Nuclear power will remain an important part of Europe's energy mix, said Lady Barbara Judge, chairman emeritus of United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority.

"While Fukushima has changed the game for some countries in Europe, such as Austria, Germany and Sweden, others such as France and the United Kingdom are proceeding with their nuclear programs," Judge said, arguing nuclear energy is one of the few that satisfies the conflicting needs for energy security, energy independence and climate change reduction.

In response to this, Andreas Nauen, chief executive of Germany's REpower Systems, stressed that renewable energy such as wind can also satisfy the security, independence and low-carbon criteria.

"Most countries could generate 20 to 30 percent of their power needs from wind energy," he said.

The German government had decided to close all of its 17 existing reactors by 2022, in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster triggered by the March 11 massive earthquake.

Kandeh Yumkella, director-general of UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), called for a level playing field for renewable energy to be more competitive. "We need to rethink pricing models and ensure that all externalities are priced in."

"Eastern Europe, in particular, has great opportunities to exploit unconventional shale gas resources," said Atul Arya, senior vice-president of IHS's Energy Research team, who outlined opportunities for Europe in shale gas, second and third generation biofuels as well as innovation in storage solutions.

Ukrainian Energy Minister Yurii Boiko stressed the importance for Europe to have a diversification of resources bases and highlighted the need to continue the technical revolutions in extracting shale gas as well as clean coal technologies.

"Old methods and technologies are no longer sustainable economically or ecologically," he said.