Barcelona's air: polluting emissions fall but still exceed the EU's 2030 target
NO2 levels have been reduced by up to 14% in different parts of the city in the first half of the year.
BarcelonaBarcelona closes the first half of the year on the right track in terms of air pollution: nitrogen dioxide (NO2) remain low after 2024 where historic lows were reached and the positive trend of recent years is confirmed. In fact, a decrease of between 2 and 14% is observed at the monitoring stations distributed throughout the city compared to the values from a year ago.
"If the January 2025 update confirmed that the city had the best air quality in its history, we can now confirm that NO levels have been reduced at all stations."2 —a pollutant highly influenced by local traffic emissions— and remain within limits," said Bonet during the presentation of the air quality report by the Catalan Public Health Agency of Barcelona (ASPB).
Bonet also highlighted the case of the Eixample station, one of which2 have been 30 µg/m³, ten points below the current threshold of the European Union and 29% below what was recorded in 2022. Despite the positive evolution, there is still work to be done to ensure that pollution levels exceed the limits set by the EU for 2030. In this horizon, NO emissions2 may not exceed 20 µg/m³.
The other pollutants, PM10 and PM2.5 particles, have also remained at stable levels since 2013. And, although they are below the current legal limits established by the EU (as is NO2)Bonet explained that the goal is to continue working to bring them closer to the values set for 2030. "It's important that the European green agenda not lose momentum," he noted. In this regard, he also emphasized that the recently approved European directive seeks to align itself with the World Health Organization (WHO), which has much more demanding thresholds (between 5 and 10 µg/m³ depending on the pollutant), a scenario for which they also want to prepare.
Health Impact
Pollution is harmful to human health by increasing the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, a recent study by Nature concludes that Living in areas with high pollution increases the risk of having mutations similar to those caused by smoking. The Councilor for Health, Marta Villanueva, explained that the improvement in air quality recorded has had a positive impact on the health of Barcelona residents.
Specifically, attributable mortality has decreased by 32% between the periods 2020-2024 and 2018-2019. The report also shows that, in the last six years, there has been a 5% drop in new annual cases of lung cancer, and a 15% drop in childhood asthma. Bonet commented that all the results indicate that the low emission zone (LEZ) "is working," and reiterated the city council's commitment to "increasing green space by 40 hectares" in the city by the end of her term.
Brussels warning
Now, the European Commission has once again raised eyebrows in Spain, specifically in Barcelona and Madrid, regarding the implementation of measures to reduce air pollution. Brussels acknowledges in a report published this Monday that authorities are adopting "new measures" to reduce car emissions, although it already warns that these must be "rigorously applied."
In the report on compliance with EU environmental policy, the European Commission also calls on Spain to increase environmental taxes by 2025 to meet European targets. The European Commission estimates that the investment gap to meet environmental objectives, beyond climate change, is €10.7 billion annually, around 0.81% of its GDP.
This need for additional investment is close to the EU average (0.77% of GDP), but environmental taxes in Spain are below the European bloc average, the European Commission points out. Although new taxes on single-use plastics and waste management have been introduced, Brussels sees it as a "priority" for Spain to increase them and reduce "environmentally harmful" subsidies in order to close the investment gap.
