Prince Harry 'flew on a private jet AND helicopter paid for by Google' to get to tech giant's 'hypocritical' Sicily climate change camp (and the prince would need to plant 190 trees just to offset one leg of the trip)

Google hosted a climate summit in Sicily which cost $20m and pumped tons of CO2 into the atmosphere

Prince Harry said to be among guests which included Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom and billionaire David Geffin

Sources said prince flew via private jet from London to Palmero and then took helicopter to summit in Verdura

Environmental groups said Harry would need to plant 190 trees just to offset the plane journey

Google paid for a private jet and a helicopter to ferry Prince Harry from London to Palmero for its climate change summit, sources said, as environmental groups blasted the meeting for hypocrisy.

While Buckingham Palace has refused to confirm whether or not the prince attended the event, sources said a plane was chartered to bring the royal to Palmero airport, before a helicopter whisked him onwards to the luxury resort of Verdura for the summit, all paid for by Google.

Once at the summit - dubbed Camp Google - Harry is said to have delivered an impassioned speech about the environment and humanitarianism while barefoot.

If Harry did travel via private jet, it would have put around three tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere - ten times more than going via commercial airliner.

In order to offset just the one-way plane ticket, Harry would need to plant around 190 trees, environmental group Trees for the Future said.

When pressed whether Harry had flown commercial or private the CEO of Palermo airport Giovanni Scalia said: 'Being royalty you can guess which.'

Critics questioned why the tech giant had used transport with massive carbon footprints to arrive at a climate change event.

Italian media reported that 114 private jets were scheduled to land in Palermo during the summit, although it was not clear if they were all chartered for guests – dubbed the 'Greenerati'.

Google did not respond to requests for comment.

Harry has warned about the 'terrifying' effects of climate change on the world when he revealed this week that he and wife Meghan had decided to limit their family to two children.

Guests in Sicily included singer Katy Perry, who has appeared in Unicef films about combating climate change.

She arrived with fiance Orlando Bloom on board a £330million super yacht owned by Hollywood mogul David Geffen. She was reported to have been spotted in a Maserati SUV that does only 15 miles to the gallon.

Other guests were reported to include Leonardo DiCaprio, who runs his own environmental foundation, supermodel Naomi Campbell, fashion designer Stella McCartney and singer Harry Styles. BBC presenter Andrew Neil used Twitter to pour scorn on the 'plutocracy gathered in a billionaire's hotspot'.

He tweeted: 'Scores of celebrities and the rich have arrived in Sicily for a Google conference. They came in 114 private jets and a flotilla of super yachts. The conference is on global warming.

'What is [the] conference going to achieve, other than a glamorous knees up for the rich? Also, and I may be out on a limb here, but I do believe there are scheduled flights and ferries to Sicily.'

Muna Suleiman, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: 'People should really think hard about the message they're sending out and the damage they're causing when chartering a private plane.

'It's obviously important to have voices from across the globe as part of the conversation around stopping climate breakdown, but there are ways to travel more responsibly.'

The annual event was created by Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin seven years ago to allow the rich and famous to meet in private.

Guest lists are confidential and attendees are banned from posting on social media. They attend morning sessions about online privacy, politics, human rights and climate change. Afternoons are free for golf, spa treatments and relaxation.

The $20million climate change party: How Camp Google racked up an 800-tonne carbon footprint flying 'hypocritical' celebrities to environmental talking shop on 114 private jets

It is hard to put a price on saving the planet - but Google now has an eye-watering tab to show for its attempt.

The tech giant spent an estimated $20million on an extravagant climate change bash for a host of A-list celebrities this week, flying hundreds of guests across the world and treating them to three days of luxury at a Sicilian seaside resort.

Today the celebrity guests, who included Prince Harry, Harry Styles, Naomi Campbell and Bradley Cooper, faced ridicule and accusations of hypocrisy for meeting in Italy to save the planet while leaving a huge carbon footprint of their own.

The 300 guests at the secretive camp, who also included Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, mingled on $400million mega-yachts and cruised around Sicily in $200,000 cars before watching Coldplay's Chris Martin perform in ancient ruins which cost another $100,000 to rent - even before the show was put on.

Google picked up the tab for their flights, accommodation and entertainment during the three-day 'Google Camp', sending the costs spiralling.

With environmental costs thrown in - guests arriving in Palermo on 114 fuel-guzzling planes, roaring around Italy in Maseratis and enjoying the well-watered golf courses and swimming pools at their $903-a-night resort - the climate party quickly made a mockery of its grandiose intentions.

Britain's Prince Harry is understood to have given a passionate barefoot speech about saving the planet, although Buckingham Palace has refused to confirm his attendance.

'This is not something we are commenting on,' a spokeswoman told MailOnline.

Sources said Google laid on a private jet to take him to Sicily and a helicopter to ferry him from the airport at Palermo to the luxury resort of Verdura on the island's south coast. Google did not respond to requests for comment.

When pressed whether Harry had flown commercial or private the CEO of Palermo airport Giovanni Scalia said: 'Being royalty you can guess which.'

If Harry did travel by private jet with five passengers aboard, rather than taking a commercial flight, it would have created around ten times more carbon emissions – putting around three tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. The prince would need to plant 190 trees in order to offset his one-way flight to Palermo, environmental group Trees For The Future said.

BBC presenter Andrew Neil was among those to point out the irony, saying: 'Scores of celebrities and the rich have arrived in Sicily for a Google conference. They came in 114 private jets and a flotilla of super yachts. The conference is on global warming.'

Sources told Page Six that the total cost of the Google-funded showpiece would run to around $20million.

The combined carbon footprint of dozens of flights from Google's Los Angeles base to the Verdura resort would also come to around 780 tonnes of C02, although it is not clear where all the guests travelled from.

Perry and Bloom were picked up by David Geffen's $400,000 super-yacht before it continued on its way up the Italian coast.

The resort features thalassotherapy pools - a type of therapy using seawater - as well as well-kept, water-sapping golf courses and a selection of swimming pools and spas.

The most expensive rooms cost nearly $2,000 a night and the bill for the whole 300-guest party will have run into hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The summer party also splashed out energy costs on bright-coloured lighting at a Chris Martin concert in the ancient ruins.

Taking aim at the guests, Boston Robb said: 'Tree-hugging celebs take jets to extravagant Google Camp. Ahhh yes they'll all 'talk' about climate change once they all arrive privately in their own jets and yachts.'

Former U.S. House candidate Elizabeth Heng joined in the criticism, saying: 'How ironic. For all this talk about saving the earth, 114 private jets chartered to attend this conference. Eliminating carbon footprint, eh?'

Another Twitter user said: 'Look, in theory the google camp is a good idea but it's ironic that all the celebs turn up in private jets and superyachts... then talk about saving the world at a decadently extravagant Italian resort.

'Hope they spend some time discussing their own impact on the environment.'

One commenter described guests at the three-day event as the 'Greenerati' and scorned them for showing 'climate concern' while flying on private planes.

Gregory Taylor took aim at 'rich people most likely flying in on private jet and then lecturing us on climate change'.

Another Twitter user said: 'Is there anything more hypocritical than a bunch of rich people flying their private jets across the world to sit on yachts and discuss the future of our planet?'

Supermodel Naomi Campbell was among the guests and reportedly gave a speech about Nelson Mandela at the secretive event.