London (Platts)--13Mar2008

German and British foreign ministers Frank-Walter Steinmeier and David
Miliband have called for a European and multilateral strategy to deal with the
consequences climate change will have on international security, they said
Thursday.

In a joint statement from the German foreign ministry, they said that
"climate change will deepen existing tensions and will intensify competition
for scarce resources, especially energy, water and agricultural goods."

The ministers said that Europe must "prepare now" for the consequences
that climate change will have on Europe's foreign and security policies.

According to the ministers, the competition threatens to create "further
streams of migration and the regions to suffer most are those that are already
prone to instability."

Steinmeier and Miliband said current studies showed "that we must expect
drastic consequences if we do not face the challenges [of climate change]."

The ministers highlighted the European Union's Central Asia Project in
which fresh water supply is a point of focus and they suggested improving
weather observation points in regions where climate change is most visible,
especially the Arctic.

It is estimated that European dependence on gas imports will rise from
57% (2005) to 84% in 2030.