Municipalities resist activating low emission zones (ZBE). The deadline to implement it was nine months ago, but only 14 of the total of 151 Spanish municipalities that should have it have done so. Some claim to be processing the projects while others show reactions to applying the regulations.
Which municipality should have the low emissions zone?
The Climate Change Law, approved in 2021, required that island territories, cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants and those with more than 20,000 that exceed certain pollution values must have ZBE before it begins in 2023.
What cities have the ZBE activated?
However, for now, the only cities that have these zones in force that restrict access to the most polluting vehicles are Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Zaragoza, Córdoba, A Coruña, Pontevedra, Pamplona, Badalona (Barcelona) , Sant Cugat del Vallés (Barcelona), Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona), Cornellà de Llobregat (Barcelona), La Línea de la Concepción (Cádiz) and Rivas-Vaciamadrid (Madrid).
Municipalities that do not want to put ZBE
At the opposite extreme are the nearly 30 municipalities that have not started the procedures, such as Menorca, Ferrol (A Coruña), Aranjuez (Madrid), Motril (Granada) or Mijas (Málaga).
Although less than 10% of municipalities have these operational zones, sources from the Ministry of Transport have stressed to EFE that the town councils have 1,500 million euros in aid from the Recovery Plan to develop more than a thousand actions aimed at implementing the ZBEs. . , acquire zero-emission buses or pedestrianize streets. These same sources confirm that this week the ministry has sent a letter to the municipalities that are beneficiaries of this aid to “remind them of their commitments and obligations.”
The municipalities that are in process amount to 122.
According to data from the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (Miteco), 122 localities have already started the procedures to implement their low-emission zones, but there are notable differences regarding the pace at which they are progressing.
The city councils of cities such as Badajoz, Gandía (Valencia), Zamora or Ávila assure that their ordinances will be in force before the end of 2023. In the case of Guadalajara, Alcobendas or San Sebastián de los Reyes (these last two in the Community of Madrid ) foresee that the ZBEs will be in operation from January 1, 2024.
Other municipalities, such as Oviedo, Gijón or Avilés, are further behind and hope to have them operational throughout next year. In Seville, although according to Miteco data the low emissions zone is in force, sources from the city council have informed EFE that the effective application – control by cameras – has not yet begun and is expected to begin in early 2024.
Albacete, for example, hopes to finish drafting the project before the end of 2023 and, in Talavera de la Reina (Toledo), the local government has announced that at the beginning of August 2024 the works to implement these areas must have been completed. However, they maintain that this does not mean that it will be put into operation on that date.
Santander, Elche or Badalona are not going to apply it
After the regional and municipal elections of May 28, some leaders of the PP or Vox are modifying the projects that the previous government teams began and thus intend to eliminate or delay the application of low-emission zones. The mayor of Santander, Gema Igual (PP), assures that the low emissions zone will not be applied “without prior data” to justify its implementation, “on a whim or without a criterion that can be explained.”
The City Council of Elche (Alicante) has confirmed that it will not restrict traffic in the town to implement the ZBE and in Badalona (Barcelona), although it is operational, it is not applying it. It was planned that the sanctions would come into force in 2024, but the new mayor, the mandate of the socialist popular front.
Many ask for a postponement
At least five cities have requested to extend the deadline to apply low-emission zones. This is the case of Málaga, Granada, Ceuta, Burgos or Palma de Mallorca. Palma City Council has requested an extension until December 31, 2024 because they claim that they do not have “enough time” to complete the project.
In the case of the capital of Malaga, they have requested to extend the deadline also until the end of next year, but in this case they justify that decision by “the lack of supplies” that exists due to “the great demand” of the cities that are obliged . To create these zones. In Burgos, the new government, of PP and Vox, intends to soften the measures proposed by the previous team and has requested a one-year extension.