Mayors of the Metropolitan Arch demand the annulment of the ZBE decree
The mayors of the Metropolitan Arc, an area that includes municipalities such as Vilanova i la Geltrú, Terrassa, Granollers, Mataró and Sabadell, have demanded that the Government withdraw the Low Emissions Zone (ZBE) decree after rejecting that it leaves responsibility exclusively in hands of the town councils.
During a meeting with the general director of Climate Change and Environmental Quality, Mireia Boya, they conveyed their concerns about a regulation drafted without territorial consensus, highlighting that if the decree advances, more than half of the cities’ current vehicles will be affected in a region with structural public transport deficits.
Discontent with the Air Quality Plan
The meeting also served to express the discrepancies that arose as a result of the draft Decree of the Air Quality Plan, and the need to bring together positions on the implementation of the ZBE in the municipalities of the Metropolitan Area.
ZBE’s own model
The cities of the Arc have begun a joint effort to agree on their own ZBE model in the nine municipalities, considering social aspects and the territorial reality. These guidelines were presented during a meeting with the previous councilor, Teresa Jordà, in February 2022.
Impact on municipalities
More than half of the vehicles in cities such as Vilanova i la Geltrú, Terrassa, Granollers, Mataró and Sabadell would be affected by the restrictions on vehicles without a label and with a B label, which would especially impact citizens with fewer resources who do not They can change vehicles regularly.
Invasion of municipal powers
The mayors of the Metropolitan Arch show their opposition to the current wording of the decree, which they consider a clear invasion of municipal powers, without respecting the specificity of the municipalities of the second metropolitan crown and the structural deficit of public transportation in the region.