The Ombudsman urges municipalities obliged by Law to implement Low Emission Zones to put them into operation as soon as possible

The institution has sent 11 recommendations to 33 city councils and urges all those municipalities obliged to establish ZBEs, whose objective is to reduce CO₂ emissions causes of climate change and emissions of polluting gases harmful to health, to do so as soon as possible and to avoid further delays and delays.

Request for information from several municipalities

The Ombudsman requested information from 18 municipalities that in November 2023 had not yet started the processing of the ZBE: Aranjuez, Arganda del Rey, Arona, Barakaldo, Calviá, Cerdanyola del Vallés, Coslada, Ferrol, Granadilla de Abona, Mijas, Motril, Orihuela, Puerto de Santa María, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Telde, Tres Cantos and Valdemoro.

Likewise, it addressed seven municipalities that had begun the processing of the ZBE but whose implementation was delayed: Alicante, Bilbao, Córdoba Málaga, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

The institution also requested explanations from eight municipalities in which the implementation of ZBE had been slowed down or suspended: Badalona, ​​Castellón, Elche, Gijón, Lorca, Majadahonda, Valencia and Valladolid.

The reasons for the delay

The Ombudsman has received the requested reports from all the town councils with which actions began in November 2023, except those of Arona, El Puerto de Santa María and Murcia, despite being obliged by Law to respond to the requirements of the institution as High Commissioner of the Cortes Generales.

The reasons given to justify the delay in the implementation of ZBEs are very varied. In summary, the municipalities They allege the lack of sufficient time for the approval of the ZBEthe technical complexity of its installation, the assistance of specialized personnel to undertake it, or the lack of sufficient financial resources to carry it out.

Likewise, some city councils argue that have opted for the convenience of undertaking other actions regarding mobility or pollution, or they have alleged the low level of pollution existing in their municipality or the special urban geography of the population.

No justification

In the opinion of the Ombudsman, however, None of the arguments offered justify the delay in the establishment of ZBEs, which is required in accordance with Law 7/2021, on Climate Change and Energy Transition, and for the implementation of which some have already received financial aid. In this context, the institution considers worrying the responses of those municipalities such as Valencia, Tres Cantos, Orihuela or Sanlúcar de Barrameda that have not incorporated a calendar of actions for the installation of the ZBE, nor the indication of an estimated date for its entry. in operation.

Special mention is made of Valencia and the populations affected by DANA and it is understood that the implementation deadlines for the measures necessary to establish ZBE be delayed due to the difficulties and challenges they face.

Other arguments raised by some town councils such as Arganda or Alicante about the lack of need to implement the ZBE because the municipality meets the air quality objectives set by regulations or because other sustainable mobility measures are considered preferable are not justified. It must be considered that the objective of ZBEs is not only to combat pollution, but to mitigate climate change, and the legal requirement does not allow them to be replaced by other measures that pursue the same goal.

The special geographical or urban characteristics of the cities due to being crossed by a highway or having very differentiated and distanced population centers, as Valdemoro, Calviá or Mijas have respectively alleged, do not justify the delay of the ZBE either, as the regulation allows the establishment of one or more zones.