Barcelona Metropolitan Area welcomes government flexibility on Low Emission Zones

Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) – an administrative body comprising 36 local councils – has welcomed the Catalan's government's willingness to make changes to its Air Quality Plan, recognizing the differing needs of municipalities when creating Low Emission Zones.

After feedback from councils, the government has agreed to allow Low Emission Zones to span several adjoining council areas, which would allow major cities, such as Sabadell-Terrassa-Rubí or Reus-Tarragona, to be part of the same LEZ.

The LEZs were originally intended to cover 25% of the urban residential area of each city, but will now only have to cover 25% of the total urban area of the cities combined.

The government has also agreed to delay limitations on certain vehicles – those with a yellow 'B' label – for one year, until 2027. From then on, diesel cars with Euro 4 standards, ranging from the 2006 to 2013 models, will have restricted access to these zones.

Negotiations are still ongoing to finalize the details, as the government aims to achieve "maximum consensus from cities to reduce pollution by 50% in eight years".

Barcelona introduced a Low Emission Zone (LEZ, or ZBE in Catalan) in 2020, affecting petrol cars registered before 2000, diesel cars registered before 2006, vans registered before October 1, 1994, and motorcycles and mopeds registered before 2003.

The LEZ covers an area of 95 square kilometers and includes most of the cities and towns in the metropolitan area, such as Sant Adrià de Besòs, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Esplugues de Llobregat and Cornellà de Llobregat. Some areas are excluded, including the main ring roads of the city.