A growing tangle of regional carbon regulations is creating mounting compliance pressure for shipowners and threatening to slow investment in practical decarbonisation solutions, according to UK-based wind propulsion company BAR Technologies.
The company says the proliferation of emissions schemes — from the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and FuelEU Maritime to emerging greenhouse-gas fuel intensity rules and the still-pending IMO global framework — is forcing ship operators to navigate overlapping obligations with differing baselines, cost structures and reporting requirements.
“Carbon compliance is becoming more fragmented by the month,” said John Cooper, CEO of BAR Technologies. “Instead of building momentum behind a single global framework, we’re creating a patchwork of schemes with different baselines, rules and cost mechanisms. That creates confusion, inflates costs, and weakens the industry’s ability to invest in real, scalable solutions.”
According to the International Carbon Action Partnership, more than 30 emissions trading systems are now either in force or under development worldwide, underscoring what the company sees as a broader risk of regulatory divergence.
At the same time, the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which took effect on 1 January 2026, is embedding carbon pricing into global trade flows by targeting the emissions intensity of goods such as steel, aluminium and fertilisers — all major seaborne cargoes — adding indirect cost exposure for shipping.
BAR Technologies is calling for a unified global carbon framework for maritime, arguing that a single, transparent system would reduce administrative burden and provide clearer signals for investment in low-carbon technologies. The company has advocated for a bunker-level carbon collection mechanism to fund climate reinvestment while avoiding duplication across regional schemes.
In the absence of global alignment, the firm is urging shipowners to focus on deployable efficiency technologies that can deliver emissions cuts regardless of regulatory geography. Its WindWings wind-assisted propulsion system, already installed on several vessels, is positioned as a near-term option to reduce fuel consumption and support the economics of alternative fuels such as methanol and ammonia by lowering overall demand.
“While we await consensus on a unified framework, we cannot afford inaction,”
Cooper
“We need technologies that work today, across regulatory zones and wind propulsion is leading that charge.”
With carbon pricing mechanisms continuing to diverge across regions, BAR Technologies argues that the industry must balance calls for policy harmonisation with immediate operational measures to cut emissions, warning that regulatory fragmentation risks slowing rather than accelerating shipping’s energy transition.
