Institute of Environmental
Assessment and Water Research

15 June 2021

The Rondes Barcelona Low Emission Zone Impact Assessment Group (Grup d’avaluació de l’impacte de la Zona de Baixes Emissions, ZBE), coordinated by the Barcelona Public Health Agency (Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, ASPB), has carried out the first ZBE impact assessment report in air quality. The report describes the evolution of the road traffic and air quality in the municipalities included in the ZBE during 2020, the first year of operation of this measure. The Assessment Group is made up of scientists and experts from the different administrative and scientific institutions (AMB, ASPB, ASPCAT, Barcelona City Council, IDAEA-CSIC, ISGlobal, UPC).

The researchers Xavier Querol, Jordi Massagué and Fulvio Amato are the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC) members of the Assessment Group.

The main conclusion of this report is that the entry into force of sanctions in September 2020 meant an environmental improvement of the amount of vehicles circulating within the ZBE, but it did not mean an appreciable change in the level of NO2 in the area. The changes in air quality induced by the reduced mobility associated with the pandemic during 2020 were much more considerable than expected by the ZBE. Therefore, longer-term data are needed to be able to analyze the influence of ZBE on air quality, especially in an exceptional context for COVID-19 where mobility patterns are not the usual ones.

Full report “Avaluació de la ZBE rondes Barcelona en la qualitat de l’aire”