The Government increases the pressure on the 17 cities that have not yet started their low emission zones

Traffic in the center of Tres Cantos (Madrid), one of the towns that have not yet started the procedures to create a low emissions zone. Santi Burgos

The Government is increasing the pressure on cities that are not yet designing their low emissions zones (ZBE), to which the 151 Spanish cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants have been obliged since last January 1. Nine months later, only 14 have one of these areas, although the Ministry for the Ecological Transition explains to EL PAÍS that 120 are already working on their projects. That leaves 17 without starting the procedures or communicating them to the ministry. The Executive will launch a map this Monday to show which they are and, although it refuses to reveal their names until then, a count by EL PAÍS reveals that among them are Tres Cantos and Valdemoro (Madrid), Motril (Granada), Barakaldo (Bizkaia) and Ferrol (A Coruña). This information opens the door to future complaints from environmentalists. Transport threatens the wayward ones – and those who worsen their projects – with the withdrawal of European funds, while the Basque Ombudsman has already requested information from the six Basque cities involved.

Although the legal obligation—included in the Climate Change Law—has been in effect since the beginning of the year, the Government has so far not wanted to remove the issue so as not to interfere in the municipal elections in May. In general, new traffic restrictions tend to be unpopular at the beginning of their application, although as the months go by citizens value their advantages. After the elections, and once the new town councils were formed, several municipalities governed by PP and Vox have threatened to reduce or delay their ZBEs despite the European obligation, which has worried Ecological Transition. For this reason, the Executive has proposed to focus on this issue.

As a first measure, the department of Vice President Teresa Ribera will launch this Monday a complete tool to show the 151 municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants obliged to establish their low emission zones, areas in which the circulation or parking of vehicles is prohibited. more pollutants to improve air quality. Each of them shows the processing status of the ZBE (in operation, in process or not yet started), as well as the characteristics of each of them (size, location and restrictions). This information will also reach the drivers’ GPS through the maps of the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT).

According to a count by EL PAÍS, among the municipalities that have not yet reported any procedure to the ministry are Tres Cantos (PP) and Valdemoro (PP and Vox), both in Madrid; Ferrol (PP), in A Coruña; Motril (PP and Más Motril), in Granada; and Barakaldo (PNV and PSOE), in Bizkaia. The other 12 will be known this Monday, when the tool is published.

A man and a child ride a bicycle through the new low-emission zone of the Reina Sofía park, in La Línea de la Concepción.MARCOS MORENO

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transport is going to supervise all municipal actions subsidized by Next Generation European funds, which include dozens of low-emission zones. The objective is to control that they are executed as announced – even if the party in charge of the City Council has changed -, without any reduction with respect to the project presented, and within the period indicated in the call (in many cases, before the end of the year ). Gijón and Valladolid, for example, have already announced that they want to reduce their future restricted area to a minimum, in the second case modifying a ZBE project already started.

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“The subsidies are given with regulatory bases that establish commitments: you have to finish the action on time and maintain it for at least five years. If you do not comply, you will have to return the money,” María José Rallo, Secretary General of Transportation, explained this Thursday.

Eliminate bike lanes

In fact, this ministry has already initiated the procedure for the recent elimination of a bike lane in Logroño (the one on Portugal Avenue), subsidized with more than two million euros by the same European funds program. Raquel Sánchez’s department points out that it has sent a letter to the Rioja City Council to warn it that it has not authorized this modification, that it has not been requested through the indicated channel, and that it may also cause “significant harm” to citizens, therefore that threatens to demand the return of the funds granted. Logroño responds that “the reorganization of the cycling axis is based on safety reports” and that “the modification was sent to the ministry through the established administrative channel.” The return of such an item can pose a serious economic problem for a medium or small council.

More information

What could not be done is to fine non-compliant municipalities directly from the State, since neither the law nor the decree includes a sanctioning regime. Meanwhile, another option could be a discount on transfers from the General State Budget to the wayward councils, although the Government assumes that it would be very complicated to apply.

In any case, the information that Ecological Transition makes public this Monday will be essential for citizens to check whether their city council is committed to reducing pollution in their municipality, which opens the door for them to send complaints or claims to non-compliant parties. Major environmental organizations are even considering going to court for this reason. “We already have it in mind, but we have not yet made the decision, because we would have to go town hall by town hall, and that makes access to environmental justice difficult,” highlights Miguel Ángel Ceballos, from Ecologistas en Acción.

Carlos Bravo, from the NGO Transport & Environment, points out: “Going to court is on the table, and I am a supporter. But we have to agree and also coordinate with Greenpeace, Ecodes, Fundación Renovables and other entities with which we are working on this issue.” Another possibility is that environmental protests are organized, as happened in Madrid in 2019 when thousands of people took to the streets to defend Madrid Central against the attacks of the newly elected mayor Almeida, who sought to eliminate it. In the end, Spain’s first low-emission zone changed its name, but it remained, and was even expanded this year.

Another way for citizens and entities is to go to both the Ombudsman and their regional counterparts so that these institutions can request information from the councils. The Ararteko – Basque Ombudsman – launched an ex officio action in March. “The regulations should have come into operation on January 1 and have not yet been applied. That is why we started an action to see if the six Basque councils are acting or not,” says a spokeswoman. These are Bilbao, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Donostia/San Sebastián, Getxo, Barakaldo and Irún. The file is not yet finalized. Meanwhile, Ángel Gabilondo’s office points out that, so far, he has not received complaints nor has he initiated any action on this matter.

Four new restricted traffic areas

As EL PAÍS reported in August, 14 low-emission zones currently operate in Spain (compared to the 151 required, according to the INE in 2022). The last four to join, during this summer, have been those of A Coruña (in La Marina and Ciudad Vieja), Badalona (in a large part of the urban area), Córdoba (coinciding with the old restricted traffic area) and La Línea de La Concepción (in Princesa Sofía park). According to data from the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, these are added to those existing at the beginning of the year, in Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Cornellà de Llobregat, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Pamplona, ​​Pontevedra, Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Seville and Zaragoza (these last two came into force at the beginning of the year). In addition, there are three towns with less than 50,000 inhabitants where there are ZBEs in force: Esplugues de Llobregat, Sant Adrià del Besòs and Sant Joan Despí, all of them in the metropolitan area of ​​Barcelona.

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