Blog & News

Category: Spain

New rules for low emission zones in January 2022

The new year is barely a few days old, but already there are important changes in the environmental zones in many European cities. Often the changes only affect individual cities, but sometimes they affect entire countries. But some tightening has been postponed, on the one hand because pollutants have decreased due to the pandemic-related decrease in traffic, and on the other hand because drivers want to be given enough time to adjust to innovations in difficult times. Green-Zones® lists the new rules for January.


Low emission zones & driving bans: What will change in 2022?

Originally, a whole series of new rules and driving restrictions were to come into force in the year that is coming to an end. But the unpredictable pandemic led many municipalities and conurbations to postpone the introduction of an environmental zone or to abandon it altogether because pollution levels had improved. The latter may be directly related to the decreased traffic during the curfews. Nevertheless, we at Green-Zones® show where things are still happening and who will be affected by future driving bans in 2022.


Spanish Low Emission Zones explained

There are currently 5 low emission zones in Spain. These are in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia and Valladolid. Only the zone in Barcelona is permanently valid. The other zones are weather-related air protection zones and are only activated in the event of severe air pollution. Which vehicles are then banned is not generally specified. Depending on the degree of air pollution, the government decides which vehicles may continue to enter.