The European Commission has launched a procedure to gather the opinions of the public regarding the pros and cons of exploiting unconventional energy sources.

The consultation procedure, set to last until March 20, 2013, seeks the opinions primarily of stakeholders, such as the oil and gas sector, environmental organizations, and geology experts.

But any concerned party is invited to take part in the survey, which has been published at this address.

The consultation is motivated with new opportunities to exploit unconventional fossil fuels such as "shale gas, tight gas, coal bed methane, tight oil or shale oil."

The EC states that however such developments need to be implemented only "with proper health, climate and environmental safeguards in place and under maximum legal clarity and predictability for both citizens and operators."

There has been widespread concern that the production of shale gas and oil from tar sands in particular poses grave environmental effects.

Several EU countries have moved to ban shale gas production due to environmental concerns, with France and Bulgaria having already implemented the ban.