Trafigura announces commitments to decarbonising shipping and aluminium as founding member of First Movers Coalition
Glasgow, United Kingdom, 4 November 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 corporate commitments to create demand for low carbon technologies. Trafigura Group Pte Ltd (“Trafigura” or the “Group”) is a founding member of the coalition and at an event to mark its formal launch in Glasgow today, Trafigura Executive Chairman and CEO Jeremy Weir confirmed the Group’s commitment to drive decarbonisation and the uptake of low-carbon technologies in the shipping and aluminium sectors.
The First Movers Coalition focuses on eight key sectors, seven of which account for more than a third of global carbon emissions but do not have cost competitive 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. Phase one commitments announced today comprise the aviation, trucking, shipping and steel sectors. Phase two commitments for the remaining sectors, including aluminium, will follow in 2022.
In shipping, Trafigura has committed to own and operate six ammonia-carrier vessels which will be converted to use low-carbon ammonia as their primary fuel source by 2030, if technically feasible. This represents approximately 18 percent of Trafigura’s current owned fleet.
The vessels will be built with the technical capability to switch fuels from conventional fuel oil to low-carbon (blue or green) ammonia when the MAN Energy Solutions two-stroke ammonia engine that Trafigura is co-sponsoring becomes commercially available.
Trafigura is also committed to working with the First Movers Coalition to agree future purchasing commitments for low-carbon aluminium, to incentivise and work with producers and consumers of aluminium to decarbonise the industry.
The commitments made by members of the First Movers Coalition aim to be collectively significant enough to commercialize decarbonization technologies. The First Movers Coalition provides opportunities for a wide range of companies to make commitments, take action and build the clean and profitable supply chains of the future. It also brings together a range of civil society and expert organizations to build momentum, complement ongoing efforts and input into the design of the initiative.
Jeremy Weir, Executive Chairman and CEO of Trafigura said: “The First Movers Coalition is an important initiative that will drive investment in technologies and solutions to achieve net zero. In the shipping sector, this marks another important signal by industry of its willingness and readiness to decarbonise. We now need an enabling global regulatory framework to accelerate progress and put a price on carbon for marine fuels.”
To read the World Economic Forum’s First Movers Coalition Press Release click here.
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Trafigura Press Office: +41 (0) 22 592 45 28 or media@trafigura.com
Notes to editors
Founded in 1993, Trafigura is one of the largest physical commodities trading groups in the world. Trafigura sources, stores, transports and delivers a range of raw materials (including oil and refined products and metals and minerals) to clients around the world and has recently established a power and renewables business division.
The trading business is supported by industrial and financial assets, including a majority ownership of global zinc and lead producer Nyrstar which has mining, smelting and other operations located in Europe, Americas and Australia; a significant shareholding in global oil products storage and distribution company Puma Energy; global terminals, warehousing and logistics operator Impala Terminals; Trafigura’s Mining Group; and Galena Asset Management.
With circa. 850 shareholders, Trafigura is owned by its employees. Over 8,500 employees work in 48 countries around the world. Trafigura has achieved substantial growth over recent years, growing revenue from USD12 billion in 2003 to USD147 billion in 2020. The Group has been connecting its customers to the global economy for more than two decades, growing prosperity by advancing trade.
Visit: www.trafigura.com