Foreign Secretary David Miliband has called on Europe to lead the world in moving to a low-carbon economy.

Mr Miliband said that ending carbon dependence will not only help in the fight against global warming, but also counter the resource crunch which has seen fuel and food prices rocket over the past year.

Speaking at the London School of Economics he said: "We face a new resource crunch, with spiralling energy and food prices as well as water shortages.

"Its origins are carbon dependence. We risk a scramble for resources, with each nation pitted against the other. The alternative is a transition from a global economy dependent on oil and gas to a low-carbon economy with a diverse mix of energy sources and suppliers.

Mr Miliband said the drive for "carbon independence" could provide a new raison d'etre for the European Union, after it achieved peace and stability in western Europe and democracy in eastern Europe.

He said: "Europe's goal should be to drive not just a low-carbon transition in Europe but beyond - using regulation, markets and negotiating positions that set the global benchmark. We are stronger if the EU speaks with one voice."

Tony Juniper, executive director of Friends of the Earth, said: "The Foreign Secretary has set out a cogent analysis of some of the most important challenges facing the international community in the years ahead."

But he suggested that Mr Miliband was at odds with his Government, saying: "While David Miliband is calling for resource conservation and low carbon development, Gordon Brown is pressing Opec to pump more oil amid fears that resource-saving measures like a tax system that rewards green cars and EU targets on renewable energy will fall by the wayside."

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