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Madrid to challenge low-emissions zone ruling
26 September 2024
by Christopher Carey
Madrid City Council has confirmed it will appeal a ruling made by the High Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) last week to remove three low-emission zones (Zona de Bajas Emisiones/ZBE) in the city centre.
Borja Carabante, the city council’s representative for urban planning, environment and mobility, said “legal services are already working” on the appeal and announced the council was also seeking a new ordinance to ratify the city’s low-emissions strategy, Madrid 360.
“Today Madrid is better than before Madrid 360,” said Carabante, adding that the appeal will be based on providing a “more appropriate” basis for the economic impact of the regulations.
The mayor’s office also insisted that the low-emission zones are still in force despite the court’s ruling and that drivers will continue to be liable for fines if their vehicle does not meet certain standards.
Court ruling
One of the key arguments made in the court’s judgment related to how restrictions made it difficult for low-income citizens to access newer vehicles that comply with environmental standards, generating an economic barrier for many.
The ruling also underlined that the 2021 Sustainable Mobility Ordinance did not adequately assess the balance between the benefits and costs of the restrictions, nor did it explore the possibility of adopting less restrictive alternatives that could have had a similar impact on emissions reduction without affecting the most vulnerable.
To address this, the council intends to reassess the Cambia 360 aid plan, through which it has already granted more than €100 million (US$111.43 million) since 2020 to facilitate the transition towards more eco-friendly vehicles.
The court’s ruling is the latest development in a series of political tussles over the implementation of low-emission zones in the Spanish capital.
In 2021, the Supreme Court struck down the city’s previous low-emission zone Madrid Central after an appeal by the current mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida.
Introduced in November 2018, petrol vehicles registered before 2000 and diesel vehicles registered prior to 2008 were banned from a 2.9 square kilometre section of the city centre, which was monitored by 115 cameras that recorded and cross-referenced vehicle licence plates.
Exemptions were made for electric vehicles, public transport and some delivery vehicles, with permits issued for the zone’s residents and their visitors.
The zone was previously suspended in July 2019 by Mayor Martínez-Almeida, only to be reinstated by a court a week later.
It was then suspended again in July 2020 after two appeals by the mayor’s administration before evolving into the current Madrid 360 plan.
Barcelona
The ongoing controversy over low-emission zones (LEZs) in Madrid is similar to what Barcelona faced in 2022.
That year the TSJ of Catalonia annulled the council’s LEZ ordinance on the grounds it lacked data in its preparatory phases and was excessive in its geographical scope.
A year later, the Supreme Court upheld the ruling, but it had no impact because the council had already approved new regulations.
Under Spain’s 2021 climate change law, cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants must implement a low-emissions zone, though specifics are vague and the size and scope is currently at each city’s discretion.
Valencia had intended to introduce an LEZ in 2023, but in July 2024 it was announced this would not come into force until 2028.
The zone will also be governed by “soft regulations”, according to Valencia’s Councillor for Mobility, Jesús Carbonell, meaning it would affect just eight percent of the vehicles registered in the city.
Image: jorge-fernandez-salas-unsplash