The World Economic Forum, in partnership with US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, announced the First Movers Coalition.
This is a new platform for companies to make purchasing commitments that create new market demand for low and zero carbon fuels and technologies, in eight sectors with heavy emissions. Seven of these sectors:
- Steel
- Cement
- Aluminum
- Chemicals
- Shipping
- Aviation
- Trucking
…account for more than a third of global carbon emissions, but do not have cost-competitive energy alternatives to fossil fuels.
Among the eight “harder-to-abate” sectors addressed by the First Movers Coalition, an ambitious commitment was established for use of scalable zero-emission fuels in maritime shipping.
Maritime carriers
For maritime carriers, the coalition aims for at least 5% of deep-sea shipping to be powered by zero-emission fuels by 2030.
Furthermore, the importance of a 2030 “breakthrough” target has also been established. In fact, an analysis suggests that zero emission fuels need to make up 5% of the international shipping fuel mix by 2030 to enable Paris-aligned decarbonization of shipping by 2050, as highlighted in a recent insight brief from the Global Maritime Forum, University College London, and UNFCCC High Level Climate Champions.
EXPLORE MORE ON THE ACTION PLAN FOR ZERO EMISSION FUELS
Cargo owners
For cargo owners the coalition urges for at least 10% of the volume of goods shipped internationally to be on ships using zero emission fuels by 2030.
On the way to 100% by 2040, a target that is in line with the recently announced Cargo Owners for Zero Emission Vessels initiative.
said the Global Maritime Forum.
The Cargo Owners for Zero Emission Vessels initiative has been signed by nine big companies including Amazon, Ikea and Unilever, who have pledged to only move cargo on ships using zero-carbon fuel by 2040.
Significantly, to qualify under First Movers Coalition commitments as being zero emission, fuels must meet the following criteria:
- Have zero greenhouse gas emissions on a lifecycle basis;
- Be sufficiently scalable to decarbonize the entire shipping industry when blended or used as standalones;
- Address land use and other sustainability concerns;
- Demonstrate they can be used safely through appropriate training and standards.
The general aim of the coalition is to drive adoption of new zero-emission fuels, as well as technologies that are considered necessary for full sector decarbonization by 2050.
Leading analysis identifies that this goal is most likely to be accomplished with hydrogenbased fuels
according to the Global Maritime Forum.
Furthermore, Ingrid Irigoyen, Director of the Aspen Institute Shipping Decarbonization Initiative, added that “we must remember that these new fuels are not yet in commercial use for deep sea shipping, and entire new supply chains need to be built.”
As for Johannah Christensen, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Maritime Forum, she believes that a first step for the uptake of zero emission technologies could be the implementation of industrial scale demonstration projects and green corridors.
We have left GHG reductions so late that if we delay investment until policy solutions at the IMO are implemented, global trade risks a late and disruptive transition
added Dr. Tristan Smith, Associate Professor at University College London Energy Institute and Director at UMAS.
These new shipping commitments are aligned with the Getting to Zero Coalition, while the University College London Energy Institute, including through UMAS, provided technical analysis in support of these existing efforts, as well as the new First Movers Coalition.
Earlier during COP26, a total of 14 countries have signed a declaration during COP26, urging the IMO to take immediate action in order to achieve zero emission shipping by 2050.
Belgium, Britain, Finland, France, Germany, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, the Marshall Islands, Norway, Panama and Sweden, Denmark, and the US signed the maritime sector declaration, which commits countries to work at IMO to adopt goals for 2030 and 2040 that place the sector on a pathway to full decarbonization by 2050.
The signing of the declaration comes after more than 150 industry leaders and organizations signed the “Call to Action for Shipping Decarbonization”, in September, urging for decisive government action to enable full decarbonization of international shipping by 2050.
EXPLORE MORE ON THE LAUNCH OF THE FIRST MOVERS COALITION
