Europe's governments must work together to deliver a "visible and stable" European energy policy or they will fail to attract the investment they need to meet sharply rising demand, according to Pierre Gadonneix, president of the World Energy Council and chairman of French energy group EDF. "We must be planning a strategy for high energy prices. That is a new factor in the environment and that will require huge investment," Mr Gadonneix told the Financial Times. "The challenge for energy policy today is to give investors the visibility they must have to provide the very big sums we need. It is very important for all energy operators that Europe makes these statements." The International Energy Agency has estimated that energy consumption will rise 60 per cent by 2030, and capacity will have to double to meet demand. But Mr Gadonneix's warning comes as Brussels struggles to stop its member states from picking apart its attempt to forge a common approach on energy policy and climate change, including the plan to auction carbon emission permits. Last month, the German government dealt a severe blow to the proposal to force companies to pay for the carbon dioxide they emit by backing an almost total exemption for industry. Other European Union members such as France are also pushing for concessions for certain energy-intensive industries. But it also comes as the energy industry faces soaring costs on the construction of power plants and, in particular, on nuclear reactors whose return is longer-term and is so far unproven. Mr Gadonneix admitted EDF was facing higher than expected costs on the construction of its new-generation EPR 1600 MW reactor in Flamanville, France. The initial estimate was