Roughly half of the emission reductions needed to reach the 2050 climate goals rely on technologies in early development, demonstration, or prototype phases. Accelerating innovation in this decade is critical to bringing these technologies to market and making them cost-competitive.

To jumpstart this effort, 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 carbon technologies.

Alongside global brands such as Amazon and Apple, A.P. Moller – Maersk is a founding member of the coalition.

“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,” says Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, A.P. Moller – Maersk CEO of Fleet & Strategic Brands, who in the presence of EC President Ursula Von der Leyen and U.S. President Joe Biden signed Maersk up to the initiative at the COP26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland.

“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,” Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, A.P. Moller – Maersk CEO of Fleet & Strategic Brands.

Maersk is signing up to a target that at least 5% of its deep-sea shipping operations will be powered by zero-emission fuels by 2030. The commitments aim to be collectively significant enough to commercialize decarbonization technologies. They follow similar ambitions from leading global retailers last month, where brands including Unilever, Ikea, and Inditex announced a target to progressively switch all of their ocean freight to vessels powered by zero-carbon fuels by 2040.

Milestones in this decade

The First Movers Coalition will create a long-term impact by driving milestones this decade through investment into technological solutions across eight key sectors.

“Technology has given us the tools to reduce our emissions and build a stronger and more inclusive economy of the future. For innovators and investors to play their part in tackling the climate crisis, they need clear market demand. The First Movers Coalition will leverage the collective purchasing power of leading companies and drive the need for these technologies. I call on business leaders to work with us and be the role models keeping our climate goals alive,” Borge Brende, President of the World Economic Forum.

Seven of the chosen 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 clean energy alternatives to fossil fuels. The eighth, direct air capture, could reduce atmospheric carbon-dioxide levels to help achieve net-zero global emissions but also requires technological innovation to reach commercial viability.

“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 panels, and battery storage but also drive innovation for our long-term decarbonization goals,” said John Kerry, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.

About A.P. Moller – Maersk

A.P. Moller-Maersk is an integrated container logistics company working to connect and simplify its customers’ supply chains. As the global leader in shipping services, the company operates in 130 countries and employs around 80,000 people.