November 4, 2021

The organizations partnered with the World Economic Forum and US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry to design the maritime shipping sector commitments, which include ambitious 2030 targets for both carriers and cargo owners.

Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, November 4, 2021 — Today, the World Economic Forum, in partnership with US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, announced the First Movers Coalition, a new platform for companies to make purchasing commitments that create new market demand for low and zero carbon fuels and technologies. 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.

Specifically, for maritime carriers, at least 5% of deep-sea shipping will be powered by zero-emission fuels by 2030. The importance of a 2030 “breakthrough” target has been established: an S-curve based 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.

For cargo owners, at least 10% of the volume of goods shipped internationally will 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.

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, and
• demonstrate they can be used safely through appropriate training and standards.

The aim is to catalyze adoption of new zero-emission fuels and technologies deemed necessary for full sector decarbonization by 2050. Leading analysis identifies that this goal is most likely to be accomplished with hydrogen-based fuels.

“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. 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, making these forward-looking commitments truly commendable. We congratulate these corporate climate leaders for demonstrating the power of collective private sector action to decarbonize shipping here at COP26,” said Ingrid Irigoyen, Director of the Aspen Institute Shipping Decarbonization Initiative. “The cargo owner ambition continues to show the vital role that climate leading multinational companies play in driving this transition.”

“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,” said Johannah Christensen, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Maritime Forum.

“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. First Movers Coalition builds on the approach by Cargo Owners for Zero Emission Vessels and the Sea Cargo Charter by mobilizing the customers of shipping to take responsibility for their maritime emissions – motivated also by the risks of disruption to their supply chains if we get this wrong. This is already making business cases for investment in the long-run hydrogen-based solutions this sector needs, and prepares shipping’s transition for the forthcoming implementation of IMO policies that can then further scale their deployment,” said Dr. Tristan Smith, Associate Professor at University College London Energy Institute and Director at UMAS.

These new shipping commitments are aligned with and developed in collaboration with the Getting to Zero Coalition—a partnership between the Global Maritime Forum, the World Economic Forum and the Friends of Ocean Action. 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.

The First Movers Coalition will work across eight key sectors. Seven of these sectors – steel, cement, aluminum, chemicals, shipping, aviation, and trucking – account for more than a third of global carbon emissions, but do not have cost-competitive energy alternatives to fossil fuels. Founding member companies of the new coalition make a purchasing commitment in at least one of the sectors. The founding member companies include:

To read the World Economic Forum’s First Movers Coalition Press Release click here.

More details about the First Movers Coalition including the scope of the shipping sector commitments can be found here: https://www.weforum.org/first-movers-coalition

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ABOUT ASPEN INSTITUTE

Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the most important challenges facing the United States and the world. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Institute has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.

The Aspen Institute Energy and Environment Program’s Shipping Decarbonization Initiative (SDI) is partnering with leading organizations and companies from around the world, tapping into a vast network to drive the transition to zero emission maritime shipping and decarbonize one of the most important sectors of the global economy. Aspen SDI is convening multinational cargo owners to accelerate shipping decarbonization, elevating the need for shipping decarbonization within the U.S. policy context, and advancing the establishment of zero-carbon transoceanic maritime transport corridors.

ABOUT COZEV

Cargo Owner for Zero Emission Vessels (coZEV) is a platform for climate-leading, multinational companies to come together for high impact initiatives that accelerate the transition to zero-carbon maritime shipping. It is facilitated by the Aspen Institute. For more information, visit www.coZEV.org

ABOUT GLOBAL MARITIME FORUM

The Global Maritime Forum is an international not-for-profit organization committed to shaping the future of global seaborne trade to increase sustainable long-term economic development and human wellbeing. To serve its mission, the Forum convenes leaders from across the maritime community with policymakers, NGOs, experts, and other influential decision-makers and opinion shapers from all geographies in a community of purpose to discuss collective challenges and to work together on developing new solutions and recommendations for action. In order to do so, the Forum identifies, develops and shares new insights and key issues on the global agenda and facilitates collaborative projects and initiatives that can deliver long-term impact and sustainable change.

ABOUT GETTING TO ZERO COALITION

The Getting to Zero Coalition is an industry-led platform for collaboration that brings together nearly 200 leading stakeholders from across the maritime and fuels value chains with the financial sector and others committed to making commercially viable zero emission vessels a scalable reality by 2030. For more information, visit https://www.globalmaritimeforum.org/getting-to-zero-coalition

ABOUT UCL ENERGY INSTITUTE

UCL Energy Institute undertakes research for a wide range of stakeholders in the public and private sectors using models of the shipping system, shipping big data, and qualitative and social science analysis of the policy and commercial structure of the shipping system. UCL Energy Institute’s work is underpinned by state-of-the-art data supported by rigorous models and research practices, which makes it world-leading on three key areas; using big data to understand drivers of shipping emissions, using models to explore shipping’s transition to a zero emissions future and providing interpretation to key decision makers. For more information visit: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/energy/research/energy-and-transport/shipping