As the 20th century ended, the shift in international relations – namely the end of the Cold War – led to a new definition of the concept of international security. From an essentially military focus, it widened and deepened to the extent of integrating a series of new concerns, among them environmental issues and the threat they pose for human security. Climate change progressively became a security issue for Western countries, leading to a necessary change of policies. Of all the regions concerned about climate change, the Mediterranean is particularly vulnerable, due to temperature increase, precipitation decline, sealevel rise and increase in extreme weather events leading to water and food scarcity and jeopardising the relatively fragile stability of the region. Although the southern shore of the Mediterranean will be severely affected by climate change, its northern shore will also be directly affected by its societal consequences, notably since desertification in the mediterranean will further intensify the migratory pressure on Europe. Those dramatic environmental developments pose a number of key threats to international security, such as a rise in the number of weak states, risks for economic development and international conflicts over resources. It is therefore necessary to address these new challenges in a multilateral and cooperative way. Spain already has a record of dealing with environmental protection and promoting the concept of environmental security, both inside and outside the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. Yet the region suffers from a lack of cooperation between the various actors, and a number of Mediterranean dialogues coexist with little interaction, at the Euromed, NATO and OSCE level. It should therefore be a priority for the Spanish EU Presidency to promote deeper cooperation in assessing climate change and its impacts, as well as in the fields of civil protection and renewable energies. Building on previous Spanish conceptual initiatives, its spearhead should be the launch of a Mediterranean and Human Security Initiative (MEH-SEC initiative) that would allow a balanced economic co-development across the Mediterranean, especially in the agricultural and energy sectors.