The world is heading for a “perfect storm” of soaring demand for food, water and energy by 2030 as the population grows, the Government’s chief scientist has warned.

Professor John Beddington said there would be international food and water shortages in 20 years’ time, while food and energy prices would rise in the UK.

The problems of a growing global population coming out of poverty would be exacerbated by climate change.

In a speech delivered to the Sustainable Development Commission conference in London, he warned that by 2030, world food production would need to rise by 50% to meet demand.

He said one in three people were already facing water shortages, and world water demand was expected to increase by more than 30% by 2030.

And by the same year total energy demands for the world population are expected to increase by 50%, he said.

The Government’s chief scientific adviser told the conference that the world needed to secure supplies of food, energy and water, alongside tackling and adapting to climate change.

Prof Beddington said: “It’s a perfect storm. There are dramatic problems out there, particularly with water and food, but energy also, and they are all intimately connected.

“You can’t think about dealing with one without considering the others. We must deal with all of these together.”

And he said: “My main concern is what will happen internationally; there will be food and water shortages.

“We’re relatively fortunate in the UK; there may not be shortages here, but we can expect prices of food and energy to rise.”

He also said Europe needed to step up its scientific agenda to meet the challenge, by appointing scientific advisers who can challenge policy on scientific grounds at an early stage in the process.

He pointed to the importance placed on science by the new US administration, and said the EU should follow suit.