Environmentalists call on Barcelona to 'urgently' reveal climate emergency measures

Groups calling for action against global warming and climate change have demanded that the Barcelona executive of mayor Ada Colau "urgently" announce the main measures it intends to introduce to combat the climate emergency during its 2019-2023 term.

Climacció, Fridays for Future Barcelona and the Moviment per la Justícia Climàtica are among the groups calling on the mayor to announce the policies within two months, along with details on the extent to which each measure will reduce emissions.

The joint statement from the environmental groups also proposes the setting up of a special committee that will oversee the implementation of the measures, and that will depend directly on the mayor's office. 

In July, one of the Colau executive's first acts following the local elections was to announce that the climate emergency declaration would come into effect from January 1, 2020 to coincide with the implementation of the city's new low emission zones. Other measures to be enforced in the near future include turning one of the 6 lanes of Aragó street, one of Barcelona's widest arteries, into a bus and taxi lane.

The environmental groups, which took part in sessions of the Climate Emergency Board on Thursday, say the climate emergency declaration is a "priority" and needs to be based on "specific" policies that cannot be "delegated."

The groups also described the city council's Climate Plan 2018-2030 announced in July, its Urban Mobility Plan, and the 10 goals it set to reduce emissions in six months to be "scant" and "indicate improvisation."

Last Friday, local police estimated that 20,000 people turned out in Barcelona as part of the Fridays for Future marches marking the end of the global “Week for Future” protests, which were held as the UN climate change summit was taking place in New York.