Prince Charles has described the fight against global climate change as a war, with the Doomsday Clock "ticking ever closer to midnight".

In a speech to the European Parliament, he called for a solution to the loss of the world's tropical forests, to make them worth more alive than dead.

He said the crisis required the biggest public-private partnership ever seen.

The prince praised the European Commission's recent proposals to reduce greenhouse gases by 20% by 2020.

'EU leadership'

"Determined and principled leadership has never been more needed," he said. "Surely, this is just the moment in history for which the European Union was created?"

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Prince Charles last addressed MEPs in 1992 with a speech that also dealt with the environment.

He told the parliament in Brussels on Thursday that no one could have predicted that climate change would become the leading concern of Europe's politicians and citizens.

The prince said it was time for a "genuine tripartite alliance", involving non-governmental organisations as well as the private and public sectors.

And he said it was crucial to work with pension funds and the insurance sector, to find out how they could make a difference.

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