Prince Charles Blames Syria Civil War on...Global Warming

The heir to the British throne is blaming the Syrian civil war that's claimed more than 100,000 lives on global warming.

In remarks to the World Islamic Economic Forum meeting in London this week, Prince Charles described the bloody Syria conflict as a "terrifyingly graphic" example of the negative effects of climate change.

Britain's Prince Charles delivers his address during a reception and gala dinner at the end of the opening day of the 9th World Islamic Economic Forum in London, Oct. 29, 2013. (Getty Images)

He referred to the Koran and the Bible in pushing for better treatment of the environment and suggested that Islamic banking could be a key to more responsible investment.

"The tragic conflict in Syria provides a terrifyingly graphic example, where a severe drought for the last seven years has decimated Syria's rural economy, driving many farmers off their fields and into cities where, where already, food was in short supply,” Charles said. "This depletion of natural capital, inexplicably little reported in the media, was a significant contributor to the social tension that exploded with such desperate results."

"It is clear from the Koran, and indeed the Bible too, that humanity has a sacred responsibility for the stewardship of the Earth," he said,according to the Huffington Post.

"The time then has surely come for our financial institutions to recognize that the Earth is not a limitless resource that can be plundered at will, and to integrate that principle of stewardship into our financial structures," he said. He proposed that because of Islamic banking’s requirement of a “moral economy,” that kind of system could offer answers.

Prime Minister David Cameron told the same forum on Tuesday that the British government would begin selling Shariah-compliant Islamic bonds – or sukuk – in order to lure investment from the Muslim world.

An excerpt of Prince Charles's remarks can be seen here:

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