Barcelona decrees the climate emergency from January 1, 2020

On January 1, 2020, not only the permanent low emission zone in the city of Barcelona will come into force. That day the climate emergency will also start in the city and, to this end, already from this coming autumn, the municipal government will activate a package of urgent measures in the field of mobility, urban planning, school environments, energy and waste management.

These measures were agreed in the first Table for the Climate Emergency, which was constituted this Wednesday and in which more than two hundred entities, experts and representatives of the administrations participate, held this Wednesday.

The Municipal Action Plan will be executed in parallel to the work of this new body, which will work on the elaboration of a decree to declare the climate emergency on the first day of next year.

Boosting healthy mobility

Among the package of measures that will be put in place, those that are taken to improve the capacity and efficiency of public transport on the surface stand out. In this sense, a bus lane will be enabled in Aragó Street and in Carmen Amaya Street with the Calvet Promenade.

In addition, speed will be limited to 30 km / h in seven streets of the city, where bicycles will have priority on the road: Rocafort, Sicília, Ausiàs Marc, Comte Borrell, Gran de Gràcia, Paseo de Joan de Borbó and Paseo de Sant Joan.

Vehicles with lower levels of pollutant emissions will benefit from the new tax mechanisms that will complement the low-emission zone.

Streets with neighborhood life

It will also try to promote and facilitate mobility on foot and thus achieve a healthier public space. To this end, the superblocks will continue to be implemented: on the one hand, work will continue in Sant Antoni and Horta and, on the other, projects will be developed to promote those of Sant Gervasi-la Bonanova, the Esquerra de l’Eixample and the Dreta de l’Eixample.

In the coming months, the new green axis of Cristóbal de Moura Street, on the Besòs axis, and the gardens of Doctor Pla i Armengol, in Guinardó, will also be opened to citizens.

School environments, a priority

To protect children’s health, various actions will be carried out in the field of schools: improvement of air quality in 85 centres; pacification, with less traffic, in the vicinity of 27 schools; a total of 9 new ecoflaflans; 11 new climate shelter projects; audits of a dozen centres; and expansion of the ‘Escola respira’ program.

Less waste and more recycling

To promote the separation of waste, the implementation of door-to-door selective collection in more neighborhoods of the city will be studied. The pilot test of this system was carried out in the old town of Sarrià, where waste collection tripled.

In addition, to eradicate the use of plastics in the city, different measures will be applied, such as the constitution of the Zero Plastic Table with public and private operators or the use of returnable cups mandatory in all activities that require a municipal concession.

Renewable energy generation

Finally, with the aim of reducing _CO2 emissions and promoting the use of renewable energies and self-generation of energy, all municipal facilities of new construction or in rehabilitation will have photovoltaic panels to generate energy. Thirty photovoltaic generation projects in buildings of the Barcelona City Council will also be tendered.

Fuetne: The Newspaper