Amazon founder Jeff Bezos pledges £1.47bn for land restoration in Africa

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has pledged 2 billion dollars (£1.47 billion) for land restoration in Africa.

The billionaire announced the funding, paid as part of the Bezos Earth Fund, at a Cop26 event with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as he said his flight to space in July had made him realise how fragile the planet was.

Mr Bezos had previously indicated the investment would be 1 billion dollars (£732 million) at an event with the Prince of Wales on Monday which focused on the Great Green Wall initiative to plant more than 20 million trees across Africa to counter desertification on the continent.

“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.”

His contribution is part of £5.3 billion in private investment and public funding worth £8.75 billion backing a declaration by 110 nations – covering 85% of the world’s forests – to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030.

Mr Bezos told the summit in Glasgow that his flight to space in July had changed his view of the world.

He said: “I was told that seeing the Earth from space changes the lens from which you view the world.

“But I was not prepared for just 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 the decisive decade, we must all stand together to protect our world.”

The space race among entrepreneurs has raised concerns over pollution impacts and criticism for spending money on trips off the planet instead of solving problems on Earth.