Confounding expectations, the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) has joined Maersk in calling for the re-inclusion of shipping in the COP21 climate deal.

Despite being at odds with International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), with which it has historically been in agreement over a range of issues, ECSA has called for “a clear signal” to IMO member states to “act decisively in order to further regulate CO2 emissions from ships on a global level,” secretary general Patrick Verhoeven said in a statement.

Far from criticising the IMO, which it praised for having “already made strides when it comes to the shipping industry’s carbon footprint”, ECSA also noted that the IMO’s work to reduce CO2 emissions was “far from completed”. The issue “remains firmly on its agenda and will be considered again at the next meeting of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee in April 2016,” said ECSA’s statement.

“We firmly believe that deleting any reference to shipping and the progress needed at IMO level is a missed opportunity,” explained Verhoeven. “The EU has already placed its faith in the IMO process by adopting legislation that will enable and support IMO in establishing a global data collection scheme.

“An irreversible process leading to lower CO2 emissions from ships has started. Efforts at IMO and EU level can only be bolstered by a clear signal from the highest UN instance on climate change. We sincerely hope that negotiating parties will seriously reconsider and heed our call for shipping to be reintroduced in the final climate agreement,” Verhoeven concluded.