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President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday warned the possibility of global shortages of food, water and energy could lead to a new style of world conflict.

“Natural resources and energy security are critical issues and challenges to the world in the future,” he said. “I’m afraid that if the world fails to solve it, there might be conflicting interests fighting for the food, energy and water resources. It could be a new source of conflict at a global level and lead to war.”

His comments came as he opened an international seminar at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday on Geopolitical and Security Challenges. The seminar was organized by the Indonesia University of Defense to celebrate its first anniversary .

He said that the rising world population, currently 6.6 billion, would mean greater competition for resources, especially because the middle class has wasteful lifestyles.

“The open war, such as happened [previously] with the motive of ideology, religion and territory domination has ended,” he said. “It is possible that the new conflict will be based on food, energy and water resources that could be a threat to our future world.”

This possible new world conflict is one of four challenges that need to be tackled by leaders of a world order that is increasingly multi-polar, he said. Yudhoyono suggested four steps to help avert possible conflicts.

“The first is that there should be a new consciousness and responsibility to develop a pro-planet lifestyle,” he said.

The second step is that technology must be developed to solve global problems such as food, energy and water security, he said.

“It needs innovation from all the nations at the world level,” he said.

“The third is there should be effective global cooperation and partnership.”

The fourth step is that nations must insist on peaceful resolutions to new conflicts.

“When there is conflicting interest, we should enforce peace solution,” he said. “Don’t easily use military power or other hard power.”

Yudhoyono added: “We should develop world civilization in a good way to solve the global problems in a civilized way.”