The head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Thursday hailed the European Union's efforts to fight climate change as a model for the world to follow.

"The European Union is a leader of the global action to mitigate climate change through its bold and innovative energy policies," said Nobuo Tanaka, the IEA's executive director, at a press conference in Brussels.

In January, the EU's executive arm, the European Commission, unveiled a package of legal proposals designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions and boost the use of renewable energies.

They included forcing member states to help cut the bloc's overall emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) to 20 per cent below their 1990 levels by 2020 and strengthening the EU's CO2 Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

Tanaka said the EU should be congratulated for adopting "courageous" targets that, if achieved, "will completely transform the EU's energy landscape."

Tanaka singled out the ETS as a "notable achievement" that offered "valuable lessons" to other IEA member states.

"We are already seeing that the scheme has had an impact on the policy debate in the United States and Australia," Tanaka said.

However, the IEA chief also called on the commission to enact bolder measures making it cheaper to achieve the climate change targets through the help of the market.

He also invited the EU to ensure that the European energy markets can become more open, more transparent and more competitive.

The Paris-based energy policy advisor has 27 member states, from Australia to the United States. Eighteen of these are also part of the EU.