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Practically the entire city, except the industrial Zona Franca, Tibidabo, Les Planes and Vallvidrera areas, plus the suburbs and satellite towns of Sant Adrià de Besòs, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, and part of Esplugues de Llobregat and Cornellà de Llobregat will form part of the new 'Low Emissions Zone' (Zona de Bajas Emisiones, or ZBE).
Deputy chairman of mobility, transport and sustainability for the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB), Antoni Poveda, says the ZBE will cover a whopping 95 square kilometres – compared to about five kilometres for Madrid Central, a scheme most residents in the capital support but which the newly-elected local government may not keep in force.
The oldest cars, says Poveda, will be banned from the entire ZBE between 07.00 and 20.00, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays, on pain of a minimum fine of €100.
From January 1, a three-month trial will take place so everyone has a chance to get used to the idea, but fines will start to apply from April 1.
Only cars and motorcycles are affected, since buses, coaches, lorries and vans have been given a year's stay of grace to adapt – either by finding ways to reduce their emissions, or to seek alternative routes and stay out of the city.
This is largely because it will take longer for drivers of these vehicles to change their practices, as they are mostly commercial or used for deliveries.
By the year 2021, a complete ban on the most-polluting vehicles will see up to 115,000 prevented from entering the city, although between January and April, around 50,000 will be affected.
As yet, the definition of 'the oldest cars' has not been given, but it is expected to be criteria linked to emissions data rather than purely a blanket ban on cars of over 10 or 12 years of age.
Barcelona wants to reduce its nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions down to 15%, and its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions down to 6%, to help fight climate change and to provide city dwellers, workers and tourists with cleaner air.
As well as speeding up climate change – given that these harmful gases trap heat inside the earth's atmosphere – air pollution, which is overwhelmingly produced by traffic, is the direct cause of death of seven million people on earth every year, or one in every 1,000 of the world's inhabitants.
Photograph: Barcelona city council
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