Three weeks after announcing its intention not to launch the Low Emissions Zone (ZBE), the Badalona City Council has found the formula to not immediately fine the most polluting vehicles (those that do not have a DGT label) and, at the same time, not be sanctioned by the Government or have to return the 2.5 million euros of Next Generation funds destined to implement it. Mayor Xavier García Albiol (PP), who governs with an absolute majority, will bring to the plenary session at the end of the month the approval of an additional provision that suspends the ordinance that regulates the operation of the ZBE and, at the same time, undertakes to start the drafting of a new project, which will be commissioned by the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB). Albiol assures that the ordinance was approved in the last mandate without studies of mobility, pollution or economic impact, which could lead to appeals from sanctioned drivers.
The idea of the council is to implement the restriction on the most polluting vehicles in stages: by neighborhoods of the city and by type of vehicle. The council ensures that the chosen formula has the approval of the Ministry of Ecological Transition. Sources from the ministry respond that “formally there are no” conversations with the council and that, in any case, before making a statement they should see the details of the proposal. In mid-September, when Albiol announced its intention to freeze the ZBE and not fine it for three years, the Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, warned him that she could be taken to court and have to return the European funds intended to implement the restriction. Among the cities that have put discounts on their ZBE on the table are Gijón, Valladolid, Castellón, Lorca and Málaga, all governed by the PP.
“We know that we have to do our part in the fight against climate change and we want to apply the ZBE, but we want to do it well. The ordinance is poorly made, it does not have the necessary documentation for an option that punishes 90% of the territory of Badalona and 95% of its population. We intend to do it with technical guarantees and apply it in a phased manner, informing residents of its impact,” defends the mayor of Badalona. According to the brochures that the council printed (but barely distributed, points out the current government team, showing stacks of boxes), the ZBE of Badalona came into force in March 2023 throughout the city (except for three neighborhoods located above the B -twenty). The brochure did not distinguish between vehicles and warned that the fines would begin on January 1, 2024, on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. To ensure compliance, the City Council already has 36 cameras with license plate readers installed. The objective of the restriction was to reduce nitrogen dioxide by 15% and CO2 emissions by 6%.
In Barcelona the implementation began affecting cars and motorcycles; six months later to vans and small trucks; then trucks of greater tonnage… to put an end to vehicles like coaches. That of Badalona contemplated only two groups: cars and motorcycles, to be fined from January 2024; and the rest (from vans to coaches) from June 2024. Like the one in Barcelona, it did provide for exemptions for emergency service vehicles, or authorizations for sporadic access of vehicles with singular activities or vulnerable groups (moving, filming, visits to the doctor, container ship, low-income families or self-employed workers close to retirement).
Albiol has always quantified the impact at 40% of the circulating fleet, but in reality the vehicles initially affected are half, about 20,000 (20% of passenger cars alone). The difference is that the mayor, based on a calculation made by the manufacturers’ association ANFAC, also counted those with a yellow label, which could not circulate in cases of high pollution episodes, which has never happened since In 2020, the ZBE in Barcelona premiered. In the Catalan capital, ten associations of transporters and drivers appealed against the ZBE and the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) struck it down, considering it “excessive” and “disproportionate” in its restrictions. However, it remains in force because the City Council appealed to the Supreme Court.
What affects the most is what happens closest. So you don’t miss anything, subscribe.
Subscribe
With an absolute majority to approve the suspension of the current ordinance and the drafting of a new project, Albiol is confident of having the ZBE at full capacity between 2026 and 2027. “Our commitment to these measures must be evident to control pollution without punishing To the neighbors who cannot change their car immediately, I hope that during this time the Government adopts measures to encourage those who cannot change their car to receive aid,” explains the mayor. Regarding the ministry’s reaction, he assures: “It was aware of our proposal and was aware that Next Generation funds cannot be withdrawn from us because we did not refuse to apply the ZBE.” “We take one step back to take two steps forward and do it gradually,” he says. And he explains that he will also commission a mobility study from the RACC.
You can follow EL PAÍS Catalunya in Facebook and xor sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits
#Badalona #proposes #implementing #emissions #zone #stages #avoid #European #sanctions