First Movers Coalition to Accelerate Net Zero Emissions Technology in Shipping and Other ‘Hard to Abate’ Sectors

The United States has launched a new “first movers” coalition platform seeking to use the purchasing power and supply chains of some of the world’s leading companies to accelerate technological advancements in “hard to abate” sectors that are needed to achieve climate change goals.

The First Movers Coaltion was announced by President Biden at the COP26 climate conference now underway in Glasgow. The coalition is comprised 25 founding members made up of some of the leading international companies from a wide range of industries. Among them is A.P. Moller – Maersk, owner of the world’s top shipping line and the only ocean carrier listed as a founding member.

The coalition focuses on accelerating innovation in eight sectors where advancement in technology is needed the most in order to achieve climate goals. The International Energy Agency forecasts that roughly half of the emissions reductions to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 must come from technologies that are not currently ready for commercial markets.

Of the eight sectors, steel, trucking, aviation and shipping were selected as being part the first phase where members pledge to “sectoral commitments” that have been developed “in close consultation with public-, private-, and civil-sector technical experts,” according to the U.S. State Department’s announcement. Collectively, the commitments aim to be significant enough to commercialize technology that can help decarbonize “hard to abate” sectors, says Maersk.

In joining as a founding member, Maersk commits to a target of having at least 5% of its deep-sea shipping operations powered by zero-emission fuels by 2030. For cargo owners, a target that at least 10 percent of the volume of their goods shipped internationally will be on ships using zero-emission fuels by 2030, on the way to 100 percent by 2040.

“We still have a long way to go, but it is very encouraging to see that the ball is rolling. Im delighted for us at Maersk to sign up to such a strong initiative and to see leading companies in hard to abate sectors make bold net zero commitments, this is what is needed to drive real climate action in this decade,” says Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, A.P. Moller – Maersk CEO of Fleet & Strategic Brands.

The coalition was created through a partnership between the U.S. State Department’s U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and the Office of Global Partnerships, and the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Energy.

“The First Movers Coalition is a platform for the world’s leading global companies to make purchasing commitments to create early markets for critical technologies needed to achieve net-zero by 2050,” said U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. “In this critical decade, we not only need to deploy as rapidly as possible existing clean energy technologies, such as wind turbines, solar panels, and battery storage, but also drive innovation for our long-term decarbonization goals.”

“The private sector has a leading role to play in finding innovative solutions, bringing new and clean technologies to market, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The voluntary commitments made by First Movers Coalition members send clear demand signals that will help ensure the technologies we develop will meet our climate goal,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.

The full list of founding members is below:

A.P. Møller – Mærsk
Aker ASA
Agility
Airbus
Amazon
Apple
Bain & Company
Bank of America
Boston Consulting Group
Boeing
Cemex
Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited
Delta Air Lines
Deutsche Post DHL Group
ENGIE
Fortescue Metals Group
Holcim
Invenergy
Johnson Controls
Mahindra Group
Nokia
Ørsted
ReNew Power
Salesforce
Scania
SSAB
Trafigura
Trane Technologies
United Airlines
Vattenfall
Volvo Group
Yara International
Western Digital
ZF Friedrichshafen AG