A partnership between the US government and the World Economic Forum, called “the First Movers Coalition”, aims to drive sectors with most emissions, including shipping, into cleaner and more efficient technologies.
More specifically, US President Joe Biden met EU President Ursula von der Leyen, US climate envoy John Kerry, World Economic Forum President Børge Brende and heads of businesses who have joined the platform in order to accelerate the decarbonization of heavy industries.
Among the companies who have already joined the First Movers coalition are:
- Apple;
- Boston Consulting Group;
- AP Møller–Mærsk;
- Vattenfall;
- Dalmia Cement;
- Volvo Group;
- Fortescue Metals Group;
- Yara International.
The full list of the participants will be announced during the official launch of the First Movers Coalition on 4 November.
The members of the coalition will commit to buying low-carbon products by 2030, aiming to help develop green supply chains and meet the climate goals. Namely, purchasing commitments will initially target four hard-to-abate sectors:
- Shipping;
- Aviation;
- Steel;
- Trucking.
Four additional sectors will become the focus in 2022.
The United States and World Economic Forum are launching the First Movers Coalition which is starting with more than two dozen of the world’s largest and most innovative companies. The Coalition represents eight major sectors that comprise 30% of global emissions that we now are dealing with
President Biden said during a speech to COP26, adding that “these companies will be critical partners in pushing for viable alternatives to decarbonize these industrial sectors and more.”
Earlier, President Joe Biden presented plans at COP26, aiming to limit global methane emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by the end of the decade.
Biden’s call is supported by an alliance of 90 countries. Nevertheless, China, India and Russia remain outside the newly formed Global Methane Pledge.
What is more, this pledge is seen by many attending this month’s talks in Scotland as one of the biggest announcements likely to come out of COP26.
Furthermore, 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.
More specifically, 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.