Michael Sippitt, Chairman of the Commonwealth Environmental Investment Platform (CEIP), explains how the pan-Commonwealth network links entrepreneurs, companies and investors engaged in environmental and sustainable technologies and services.
The CEIP was launched in March 2013 and among other things aims to inform investors and businesses of both key developments in new technologies relevant to the environment and the advantages of the Commonwealth, particularly the fast developing countries of the Commonwealth who are experiencing rapid growth in GDP and economic opportunities. According to the World Bank, 13 Commonwealth countries feature in the top 40 fastest growing economies globally in terms of annual GDP growth rate (see GDP on http://data. worldbank.org/indicator). Equally, these countries are also challenged by economic volatility, energy poverty, and resource scarcity. Perhaps most importantly, these challenges will be exacerbated by the impacts of climate change in these countries where we are likely to see large-scale climate-related migration in the medium to long term.
While we are already witnessing major migration in various world regions driven largely by political or economic factors, this may pale in comparison with future mass migration driven by impacts of climate change in vulnerable countries. In this context the need for low carbon economic growth as the model for the new green industrial revolution has never been more important. The world has never needed technology more, and has never been so well placed to share innovation and enterprise for the common good…
*Statistics within article correct at original publication date of CHOGM 2015 Report.
Michael Sippitt
Chairman of the Commonwealth Environmental Investment Platform (CEIP)
