Spanish cities suspend air quality
Spanish cities suspend air qualityA study carried out by the Clean Cities campaign, which analyzes mobility and air quality in 36 European cities, concludes that none of the four participating Spanish cities pass the test in terms of air quality.
The latest report prepared by the European Clean Cities campaign, promoted by 60 organizations in 6 European countries, shows a very improved situation for Spain with respect to mobility and air quality. The results of this ranking, which has analyzed 36 European cities, represent a general wake-up call for city councils at a key moment for the implementation of sustainable mobility policies. Oslo, Amsterdam and Helsinki lead this ranking. The top 10 is closed by Barcelona, the first Spanish city to appear. Bilbao and Madrid occupy positions 14 and 16 respectively. At the bottom is Granada, which only reaches position 27.
The study analyzes eleven indicators grouped around five categories: space for people, road safety, access or existence of climate-friendly mobility policies, and air quality. As an overall score, Barcelona obtains a 5.7; Bilbao 5.5 and Madrid 5.3; that is, very fair approvals. Granada does not reach enough, it remains at 4.6. However, if we look exclusively at the air quality data, the four Spanish cities fail, even though the study considers the aggregates from 2017 to 2019. In the case of Madrid, for example, these were precisely the years in which Madrid Central was successfully launched and BiciMAD was promoted, two policies that the current municipal government has abandoned.
Carmen Duce, coordinator of the Clean Cities campaign in Spain, denounces: “The abandonment of the current Madrid Government team of measures to promote active mobility, public transport, and reduce the number of cars in the city. Madrid has now accumulated twelve consecutive years (2010-2021) of systematic violation of the limit values recommended by the World Health Organization. Not even in a pandemic situation that has led to strong limitations on mobility. Madrid is a city drowning in traffic pollution that no other Spanish city should emulate.”
On the other hand, Granada, one of the most polluted cities in Spain, does not even obtain a pass in the overall score, although it is true that its special terrain plays tricks on it. The City Council can and must take measures to reduce pollution levels, such as restricting traffic around schools, as demanded by neighborhood and environmental organizations, implementing effective and ambitious low-emission zones and improving the public transport network.
Although Spanish cities have affordable public transport systems, their accessibility - that is, the number of stops in relation to the size of the cities - is extremely poor. In this indicator, Madrid is at the bottom of the table, with a score of 2.7 out of 10. Even more serious is the case of Granada, which is left with a 2.3. Bilbao, a benchmark in sustainable mobility, obtains an overall score of 5.
Laura Vergara, General Coordinator of Conbici, indicates: “In terms of infrastructure for bicycles, the four cities analyzed are in the lower half of the table, Madrid barely achieves a score of 0.8 out of 10, and Granada 0.6. , one of the lowest in the ranking. Spanish cities have a great challenge ahead of them, to facilitate and promote cycling mobility, in an effective and safe way to guarantee the safety of people who use bicycles as a means of transport and those willing to use it in the future.
From this perspective, we cannot forget that the Climate Change Law obliges all Spanish cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants - 149 in total - to implement Low Emission Zones that improve the quality of the air that their population breathes, as well as as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions. They must be implemented by January 1, 2023, so cities have just over 10 months to transform their streets into open, friendly and livable spaces.
Cristian Quílez, project manager at ECODES, one of the member entities of Clean Cities, points out that “this study shows that Spanish cities have a long way to go. We encourage politicians to take steps forward and adapt to the moment if they really want to bet on their city. Appropriate mobility policies are necessary to move towards zero emissions before 2030. The 2023 municipal elections must be an incentive and not a brake to implement ambitious measures that protect people's health. An example of this should be the implementation of Low Emission Zones.”
