The First Movers Coalition is an initiative in partnership between the US State Department, through the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, and the World Economic Forum and was launched officially on Thursday at COP26 with some of the world’s largest companies as its members committing to zero carbon goals by 2030.
Kerry said: "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.
“In this critical decade, we not only need to deploy as rapidly as possible existing clean energy technologies, such as wind turbines, solar panel, and battery storage, but also drive innovation for our long-term decarbonization goals."
The first phase of commitments from the coalition cover shipping, aviation, trucking and steel.
In terms of shipping carriers are to set a target of at least 5% of their deepsea shipping to be powered by zero-emission fuels by 2030, enable by ships capable of using zero-emission fuels. Cargo owners should set a target to ship at least 10% of their goods on vessels using zero-emission fuels by 2030, and 100% by 2040.
The only shipping company among the founding members is AP Moller – Maersk, although it also includes supply chain giants Agility and Deutsche Post DHL Group. From the cargo owning side founding members include Amazon, Apple, Trafigura, Fortescue Metals Group, and Yara International.
Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, A.P. Moller - Maersk CEO of Fleet & Strategic Brands, speaking about the company’s decision to joint the coalition said: “We still have a long way to go, but it is very encouraging to see that the ball is rolling. I’m 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.”
The launch of the First Movers Coalition and its shipping related targets received a positive response from the Global Maritime Forum, which has championed the shipping industry’s Getting to Zero Coalition.
Johannah Christensen, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Maritime Forum, commented: “The First Movers Coalition shipping commitments are consistent with the ambition of the Paris Agreement and fully aligned with the 2040 target and zero-carbon fuel criteria set recently by Cargo Owners for Zero Emission Vessels.
“By aggregating demand, the First Movers Coalition will drive the uptake of new zero emission technologies and fuels in shipping. A first step is implementation of industrial scale demonstration projects and green corridors to ensure safety, reliability, and sustainability of new technologies across the full value chain. Only with such collaborative efforts can we make zero emission shipping the default choice by 2030.”
The Environmental Defense Fund welcome the setting up of the First Mover Coalition and took the opportunity to call on the IMO to act on market-based measures.
Catherine Ittner, Manager of Global Transport for EDF commented: “The First Movers Coalition is yet another sign that momentum is building for decarbonizing shipping — but pledges are hollow without concrete action this decade.
“In just the past few weeks, we’ve seen more and more companies, leaders and countries make new commitments to push the sector toward a zero-emissions horizon. Now we need the International Maritime Organization to step up and meet the scale of the climate crisis by agreeing to an equitable market-based measure for decarbonisation and helping make these pledges a reality.”
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