MADRID, 1 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Starting today, January 1, 2023, all Spanish municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, island territories and those with a population of more than 20,000 people and exceeding the limit values for regulated pollutants will have to apply low emission zones ( ZBE) in their territories.
Around 150 Spanish municipalities, in which a total of about 25 million people live and around 53% of the national population (according to calculations by different organizations), are those that must implement ZBE, which implies measures such as restricting access to certain vehicles to these areas, promote public transportation and electric vehicle charging points, among other issues.
Estimates from different organizations in the automobile sector indicate that the implementation of these measures will affect almost four million vehicles without an environmental label of the around 11.5 million cars circulating in Spanish cities that are required to have an ZBE in 2023.
However, although the affected municipalities have to delimit these areas, in the vast majority of municipalities the local regulation that will dictate their specific operation has not yet been defined, which means that in practice there will not be a drastic change for drivers from one day to the next.
In fact, last week the National Business Association of Rental Vehicles (Aneval) warned that only around 20 of the obligated town councils (around 13%) have “started presenting their measures”, which is why they have urged to the councils to publish the regulations as soon as possible.
He also urged the General Directorate of Traffic to launch “as soon as possible” the platform on which he is working and which must openly collect all the municipal ordinances of the low-emission zones.
This DGT platform should make it easier, for example, for services used as GPS by drivers to warn of current restrictions.
GENERAL REGULATION
In the last Council of Ministers held this year, the Royal Decree that regulates low-emission zones was approved and it establishes the homogeneous minimum requirements that the affected municipalities will have to meet.
Thus, the ZBEs may establish continuous or temporary measures such as restrictions on access, circulation and parking of vehicles to improve air quality and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, in accordance with the classification of vehicles by their level of emissions. in accordance with the provisions of the current General Vehicle Regulations.
With respect to climate change mitigation objectives, the Royal Decree states that municipalities will have to define quantifiable emissions reduction objectives for 2030 and that are consistent with the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan for the reduction of the use of private vehicles. motor compared to other modes of transport.
If the pollution limits are met, the rule allows exceptional access for polluting vehicles for justified reasons, such as those that provide basic public services, among others, emergency services or garbage collection.
IMPACT ON THE MARKET
On the other hand, there are also estimates that indicate that 5% of vehicle purchases in Spain are already motivated by the entry into force of the ZBE in 2023.
This figure is still lower than the percentage of customers who purchase a vehicle out of necessity (80%), and close to those who buy a car out of aspiration or “whim”, these being 15% of the market, a figure less than years previous due to the inflationary effect.
SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, THE MOST AFFECTED CITY IN SPAIN
According to an analysis by Sumauto prepared at the end of last October, the Canary Islands register the highest percentage of cars without a label in Spain.
In fact, the Canary Islands cities of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (44.1%), Arrecife (43.7%), San Cristóbal de La Laguna (43.4%) and Arona (41.7%), are the cities with a higher percentage of vehicles without an environmental label.
It is followed by the Galician city of Ourense (41.7%), and the Castilian-Leonese cities of Ponferrada and León, both with 39.6% of cars in that situation.
At the opposite pole are Alcobendas (9.9%), Boadilla del Monte (11.6%) and Rivas Vaciamadrid (18.3%), all of them located in the Community of Madrid.
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