From January 2024, the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) began covering shipping. Carriers must surrender allowances for 2024 emissions by 30 September 2025, with the required share ramping from 40% (2025) to 70% (2026)and 100% (2027+). Expect surcharges and stricter reporting to keep climbing.
On 1 January 2025, FuelEU Maritime kicked in fully, pushing vessels calling at EU/EEA ports to reduce the GHG intensity of onboard energy and to prepare for shore-power requirements on select ship types and ports. That’s another regulatory lever nudging operators toward lower energy demand, lower-carbon fuels - and away from avoidable loads.
So what? Actively cooled reefer containers draw continuous electrical power at sea and in port; by contrast, a dry container with high-performance insulation adds no active energy load. As ETS and FuelEU increase the cost of each kWh and kilo of fuel burned, passive thermal protection becomes a direct lever on both cost and CO₂e exposure.
There’s also a refrigerant risk angle. The EU’s revised F-gas Regulation (EU) 2024/573 accelerates the phase-down of high-GWP HFCs, targeting a near-total phase-out by 2050 and tightening quotas starting 2025. That affects maintenance and lifecycle costs for HFC-based reefer fleets, even as new natural-refrigerant systems (e.g., CO₂) come to market.
Takeaway: In a world where every extra watt and every kg of high-GWP refrigerant matters, insulated dry solutions are often the lowest-regret choice for pharma, food, and temperature-sensitive industrial cargo that doesn’t truly require active cooling.
