* Poland leads opposition to an early decision
* Industry split over green goals' economic benefit
By Barbara Lewis and Ben Garside
BRUSSELS/LONDON, March 19 (Reuters) - European Union leadersare preparing to set an October deadline for agreeing on thebloc's 2030 climate and energy goals, a draft document seen byReuters shows.
At a meeting this Thursday and Friday, according to thedraft, "The European Council will take stock of progress made onthese issues at its meeting in June ... with a view to taking afinal decision on the new policy framework as quickly aspossible and no later than October 2014."
Business and governments have been split on whether leadersshould make an early agreement on plans for 2030 in the run-upto global talks on tackling climate change.
The European Commission, the EU executive, in Januaryoutlined a binding 2030 goal to cut carbon emissions by 40percent compared with 1990 levels. The bloc has almost met its2020 target of a 20 percent reduction.
Environment ministers from 13 member states includingGermany, France and Britain have urged EU leaders to agree on aposition in order to pile pressure on other powers to readytheir own plans ahead of negotiations late next year on a globalclimate pact to take effect from 2020.
But EU diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, havefor months played down the chances of an agreement before June.Poland and other east European countries with heavy reliance oncarbon-intensive coal want to wait until China and the UnitedStates unveil their proposals, which all nations have agreedmust be ready by April 2015.
The summit this week will call on the Commission, the EUexecutive, to do further analysis on how the 2030 goal willimpact each member state and design policies that "result infair-effort sharing", according to the latest draft for thesummit, dated March 19.
Scientists and environmental campaigners have urged the blocto continue its leadership in tackling climate change to ensurethat global temperature rises are kept below the 2 degreeCelsius level that U.N.-backed scientists say is needed toprevent a huge increase in droughts, flooding and rising sealevels.
They want the European Union to agree on its 2030 goalsahead of a September meeting in New York convened by U.N. chiefBan Ki-Moon, who aims to catalyse support among world leadersfor the climate pact.
BUSINESS VIEWS
Divisions between politicians are mirrored by divisions inEurope's business community.
Big power companies want certainty to help plan their hugeupfront investments, and some other companies also say that jobsin clean technology manufacturing will be lost abroad without adecision this week to set stronger climate policies.
"We call upon you (leaders) to swiftly adopt a robustpackage during your Council negotiations this week, so as tosend a clear signal to your peers across the globe and mostimportantly to business leaders and investors doing business inEurope," the Prince of Wales's Corporate Leaders Group said in aletter.
The group's members include firms ranging from Coca-Cola and Royal Dutch Shell and for the first timeinclude several Polish businesses and research groups, includingengineering consultancy Buro Happold and technology producerCarrier Polska, which is part of United Technologies Corporation.
But heavy industrial companies such as chemical producersand steelmakers are urging caution to ensure they remaincompetitive with rivals in regions with looser environmentalrules.
"Europe must not again impose on itself unilateral CO2reduction targets which no one else follows," 60 CEOs ofEuropean steelmakers including ArcelorMittal andThyssenKrupp wrote in an open letter to the Councilsent last week.
Scientists at Germany's Potsdam Institute said the EuropeanUnion could take the lead in setting 2030 goals at little extracost, because it had already set policies in place that wouldlead to a 30 percent cut.
"Late-comers would have the benefit of lower costs whilethey delay action but would face higher transient costs oncetheir turn to decarbonise comes," the institute said onWednesday, referring to a study it carried out with 16 otherinstitutes.
EU nations are among a handful of industrialised economiesthat have committed to binding emission reduction targets to2020, while other major emitters have pledged only voluntarygoals. The committed group accounts for less than 15 percent ofglobal emissions. (editing by Jane Baird)
