'Environmental security' essential

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Mr Reid warned of the potentially "devastating" impact of mass movements of people fleeing the famine, droughts and flooding which might be caused by unchecked global warming.

And he said that conflict over resources could become "the dominant cause of global insecurity" over the decades to come. Environmental security would be at the heart of the Government's agenda for the foreseeable future.

Mr Reid's comments follow Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett's warning to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that climate change was "a matter of international peace and security".

Wars could start over issues such as access to water and food, she said.

Speaking to the Young Fabians in London, Mr Reid said: "There is great uncertainty about the geopolitical and human consequences of climate change and resource scarcity. Environmental security is not just of interest to the geographer or the demographer. It is an economic issue, a social issue, but also a security issue.

"Environmental security will be at the heart of what the Government does over the next 10 to 20 years both because of the huge economic costs involved if we fail to act and the potential for conflict over resources to be the dominant source of global insecurity.

"The impact in terms of population movement alone could be devastating. Tackling climate change is necessary to ensure security for the many."

But the Home Secretary said that the threat of global warming also presented the UK with an opportunity to become a world-leader in the technologies needed to halt it. "Our task is to convert this insecurity into opportunity," he said.

"Growth, science, progress and internationalism are agents of sustainable development, not its enemy. Improving energy efficiency, reducing waste and cutting emissions all stimulate jobs, innovation and investment in our economy. By committing to a sustainable future now we can become a global leader in the low carbon economy - creating potentially hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of pounds of economic growth."