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Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos said going to space made him realise 'how thin the globe's atmosphere is' during a lecture to world leaders at COP26.  

After landing in Glasgow on his £48million private jet, Mr Bezos stressed the importance of environmentalism to Boris Johnson, Joe Biden and other government heads who have gathered this week to discuss international cooperation on green issues. 

Mr Bezos' Gulf Stream has led a 400-strong parade of private jets into COP26, including scores of royals and dozens of 'green' CEOs - amid an extraordinary traffic jam which forced empty planes to fly 30 miles to find space to park. 

Speaking today, billionaire Mr Bezos, who earlier this year made a short journey to space in the first crewed flight of his rocket ship, New Shepard, pledged $2billion (£1.47 billion) for land restoration in Africa, paid as part of the Bezos Earth Fund. 

He told delegates: 'I was told that seeing the Earth from space changes the lens through which you see the world. But I was not prepared for how much that would be true.

'Looking back at earth from up there, the atmosphere seems so thin. The world so finite and so fragile. Now in this critical year, and what we all know is a decisive decade, we must all stand together to protect our world.'

Mr Bezos previously indicated the investment would be $1billion (£732million) at an event with the Prince of Wales on Monday. 

Speaking today, billionaire Mr Bezos, who earlier this year made a short journey to space in the first crewed flight of his rocket ship, New Shepard, said he had gained new perspective

He told delegates: 'I was told that seeing the Earth from space changes the lens through which you see the world. But I was not prepared for how much that would be true'

Mr Bezos' Gulf Stream has led a 400-strong parade of private jets into COP26, including scores of royals and dozens of 'green' CEOs - amid an extraordinary traffic jam which forced empty planes to fly 30 miles to find space to park

'We must conserve what we still have, we must restore what we've lost and we must grow what we need to live without degrading the planet for future generations to come,' he said.

'Two thirds of the land in Africa is degraded, but this can be reversed.

'Restoration can improve soil fertility, raise yields and improve food security, make water more reliable, create jobs and boost economic growth, while also sequestering carbon.'

Mr Bezos added: 'Each year forests and landscapes absorb 11billion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere, helping to slow climate change. 

'As we destroy nature, we reverse this process. Cut down a forest, destroy the mangroves, pave over the prairies, and instead of sequestering carbon, we emit it. 

'In too many parts of the world nature is already flipping from a carbon sink to a carbon source. This is a profound and urgent danger to us all.'

He said that he was 'honoured' to pledge $2billion to restore nature as part of the Bezos Earth Fund's '$10billion commitment to fight climate change, enhance nature, advance environmental justice and economic opportunity'.   

On Sunday, MailOnline observed at least 52 private jets landing at Glasgow - while estimates put the total number flying in for the conference at 400. 

Conservative predictions suggest the fleet of private jets arriving for COP26 will blast out 13,000tonnes of carbon dioxide in total - equivalent to the amount consumed by more than 1,600 Britons in a year.   

Mr Bezos - who regularly lectures the world on climate change - arrived in Glasgow fresh from celebrating Microsoft founder Bill Gates' 66th birthday on a £2million-a-week superyacht off the coast of Turkey in an event that generated fresh claims of green hypocrisy. 

He reached the boat by helicopter, according to reports. 

Last night world leaders including Joe Biden, Boris Johnson, Angela Merkel and Justin Trudeau joined hundreds for the biggest gathering of Government representatives since the birth of the United Nations - ahead of the last 'full' day of the COP26 summit today.

The congregation of leaders appeared in high spirits as they put disagreements on hold and capped off the first day at the COP26 climate conference with a lavish royal reception at Glasgow's Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum with Prince Charles, Prince William, Kate Middleton and the Duchess of Cornwall.

World leaders pose for a group photo during an evening reception to mark the opening day of the COP26 summit in Glasgow

During the night the Prime Minister, who hosted the evening at the recently renovated gallery, told leaders the summit was 'quite an extraordinary historic event' and it was even more important because 'we face nothing less than a mortal threat to our planet and to our civilisation'.

He also hailed Prince Charles as 'the man to defuse the bomb at the world's moment of danger' and described him as a 'prophet without honour'.

His comments came as world leaders prepare for a day make-or-break day negotiations during what will be the final day of the climate change conference for many of them – with leaders leaving delegates behind to negotiate on their behalf.

The lavish reception was opened by the Queen who urged world leaders to 'earn a place in history' and 'answer the call of those future generations' in an impassioned speech.

Mr Johnson's comments came after President Biden apologised for his predecessor Donald Trump taking the United States out of the Paris Climate Accord and pledged the US would up its financial stake in fighting climate change, arguing the biggest producers of it should be its biggest investors in fixing it.

Her Majesty, 95, who was forced to miss the conference after her overnight stay in hospital last month, told leaders via video 'to rise above the politics of the moment, and achieve true statesmanship' as Government representatives attended the reception for the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference.

Boris Johnson, who hosted the event at the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow, hailed Prince Charles for his efforts in tackling climate change

She went on to say that 'none of us will live forever' and 'we are doing this not for ourselves but for our children and our children's children, and those who will follow in their footsteps' as she urged leaders to reach decisive COP climate change deals.

In her most personal speech to date, the monarch also paid tribute to Prince Philip and described how 'the impact of the environment on human progress' was a subject close to the heart of her 'dear late husband' - who in 1969 told a gathering: 'If we fail to cope with this challenge, all the other problems will pale into insignificance.'

After the monarch's powerful speech, the Prime Minister said: 'What we've got today, as Her Majesty alluded to, is the biggest gathering of world leaders in this country since the foundation of the UN at the end of the Second World War, and it's quite an extraordinary historic event.

'But in a way, what we are doing today, is even more important, because we face nothing less than a mortal threat to our planet and to our civilisation, to our way of life.'