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WASHINGTON — More than 50 companies have joined a global “buyers club” committed to purchasing aluminum, steel, and other commodities made from processes that emit little or no carbon. in Davos, Switzerland.

John Kerry, President Biden’s special climate ambassador, and a group of billionaire corporate titans who gathered for the forum at a Swiss Alps resort will announce, including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. A series of “green” purchase commitments worth $8.5 trillion.

The idea behind the club of buyers, known as the First Movers Coalition, is to stimulate demand for green versions of materials that are difficult to produce without significant emissions of carbon dioxide.

The group includes Ford Motor and Volvo Group, both of which have committed 10 percent of their primary aluminum purchases to be produced with little or no carbon emissions by 2030. The products required to generate aluminum production without releasing CO2 responsible for 2 percent of global emissions and advanced technologies are not yet commercially available.

Google’s parent company Alphabet and Microsoft and Salesforce have pledged to spend $500 million on technology to capture and store carbon emissions. Three other companies – AES, a Virginia-based power distribution company; Mitsui OSK Lines, a Japanese shipping company; and Swiss Re, a Switzerland-based reinsurance company – each committed to removing 50,000 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere by 2030. The governments of India, Japan, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Norway, Singapore and the UK also joined the coalition.

“We are creating a demand for low-carbon products,” said Borge Brende, president of the World Economic Forum, for emerging clean technologies, particularly in steel, aerospace, aluminum, cement and chemicals. These sectors are responsible for about 30 percent of global emissions, but this figure is expected to rise to about 50 percent of emissions by the middle of the century.

Mr Brende noted that the human and economic impact of global warming is growing, with climate change already taking effect in countries like India and Pakistan, which have been facing record-breaking temperatures for weeks.

“The price of inaction far exceeds the price of action when it comes to climate change,” said Mr Brende. “If we don’t use the purchasing power of big corporations to address hard-to-reduce industries now, the cost will be very high for the world moving forward.”

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis, the future of fossil fuels and the fight against climate change were a hot topic at Davos this week. Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, said she hopes to see an agreement among European Union countries on imposing sanctions on Russian oil in the coming weeks.

Speaking on the main stage in Davos on Tuesday, Ms. von der Leyen said: “We are witnessing how Russia is arming its energy resources.”

Senator Joe Manchin IIIA West Virginia Democrat, a crucial vote for potential climate legislation in the equally divided Senate, told a crowd in Davos that fossil fuels, the burning of which is driving climate change, must be part of the solution.

“The United States has abundant natural gas and oil resources,” Manchin said, adding: “We can use our fossil and the cleanest technology humanly possible to make sure we are reliable, reliable, and have security.”

Mr. Kerry sat on a panel with his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, on Tuesday. The two later met privately – the first face-to-face meeting between top negotiators on the world’s two biggest climate pollutants since the global climate summit in Glasgow last year.

Speaking between them at the conference, Kerry described the meeting as “constructive”. He acknowledged that the broader disagreements between Washington and Beijing have had an impact on the climate talks. However, he said, “We are working hard to maintain the capacity for serious progress because the world cannot make progress without China and the United States working on it.”

“It is imperative that we continue to work together,” he added.

In a joint interview, Mr. Kerry and Mr. Brende said they believe it is still possible to meet the current need for oil and gas to replace Russian energy, and they will significantly reduce fossil fuel emissions in the coming decades.

“I think it’s fair to say that the situation in Ukraine has changed some people’s narrative,” Mr. Kerry said. “And here there is a risk that some of the efforts that have gained so much momentum from Glasgow will be reconsidered in certain circles, if you will.” However, he added, “the private sector is making unprecedented strides here.”

Mr. Kerry plans to meet with Mr. Xie again next week in Berlin, where leaders meet for a meeting of officials from the seven countries with the largest advanced economies, known as the Group of 7.

China has promised to start reducing its carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, but has not said how high its emissions will reach before the curve bends.

Mr. Xie said on Tuesday that “concrete steps have been taken”, referring to China’s deployment of wind, solar and battery storage, and said nations must now deliver on the promises they have made.

The United States, under Mr. Biden, has pledged to reduce emissions by at least 50 percent below 2005 levels by the end of this decade. But Congress hasn’t passed legislation that would make these cuts possible, and a Supreme Court ruling this summer could limit the administration’s ability to use regulatory action to tackle climate change.

“The United States, even through Congress, has yet to pass a climate law, it’s doing a huge amount by executive order,” said Mr. Kerry, adding that “we’re totally busy here” and “we’re here.” In the United States, Mr. Biden has a way to meet his climate goals”. However, “we’re not quite over it yet,” he said.

Somini Sengupta contributed to the news from Davos, Switzerland.