David Alvarez |
Madrid (EFE).- 29.6% of Spain’s greenhouse gases come from the transport system, a problem that by 2050 would have to be solved if the objectives set by Brussels are to be met, and for this a much more sustainable mobility.
Despite the paralysis of the new sustainable mobility law due to the advancement of the general elections to this month of July, the truth is that the budget of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (MITMA) for this year is 21,273 million euros, which are largely being used to try to promote sustainable mobility.
According to the Government, this is the “most ambitious” figure in 13 years and represents an increase of 9% compared to a year earlier, thanks, in large part, to the fact that almost 25% comes from European Next Generation funds injected to cope with the effects of the pandemic.
More public transport and fewer journeys
Sustainable mobility in the future involves reducing the journeys that are made every day with measures such as increasing teleworking, reducing the distances between home and work, improving public transport services and increasing their frequency, the spokesperson explained to EFE. from Greenpeace Cristina Arjona.
At present, and according to data from that organization, the car occupies 70% of the public space on the streets of Spain, and using measures such as adding two more days a week working from home and thus reducing their derived journeys, they would save 790 tons of CO2 in Madrid and 1,153 in Barcelona, which is equivalent to 5-6% of the emissions produced by the mobility of people in these cities.
Part of these transfers could be made by train. In Spain, around 60% of the railway seats are medium-distance and commuter trains, of which almost half of Renfe’s fleet are electric traction trains, making this method of transport, together with high-speed, the most environmentally friendly.
In addition, 100% of the electricity consumed by its vehicles is of renewable origin, according to the company itself.
For Arjona, it is not so much a question of infrastructure, but of services. “In infrastructure it is enough, Spain is one of the countries with the most train tracks in Europe. What you have to do is increase the services so that there are more frequencies and schedules”.
Investment in the conventional network and Cercanías will be 43% of the MITMA budget (3,467 million euros) in 2023, which represents an increase of 22% compared to 2022 in the investment of the general State budget in this area, with measures how to renew and expand the number of trains available after several years.
Pontevedra, Vitoria and Seville examples of sustainable mobility
In Spain, Pontevedra is a success story: the city has been more than 20 years since the main pedestrianizations of the urban area began and has managed to reduce traffic in the city center by 30% and 70% in the entire metropolitan area , reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 60%.
In the south of Spain, Seville and Malaga are two other examples of sustainable mobility or actions that have reduced the most polluting routes, with measures such as the commitment to bike lanes or the expansion of its metro tracks.
Together with Barcelona, the Andalusian capital became one of the 20 cities in the world where bicycles are used the most and multiplied the number of users by 11 in five years, while Malaga has expanded its metro lines in suburban sections and already It registers a growth of its travelers of 45% compared to 2022.
A recent study carried out in Copenhagen ensures that for every kilometer of bike lanes built, 400,000 euros of benefits have been generated and the Paris City Council maintains that it has reduced its emissions by 40% thanks to bike lanes in the last eight years.
Companies also join sustainable mobility
Spanish companies are also becoming increasingly aware of the environment, including sustainable measures in their businesses and obtaining extensive economic benefits with them.
For example, the Asturian supermarket chain Alimerka, which operates in northern Spain, included in its fleet in 2021 the first large-tonnage electric truck in Spain, after also having been one of the pioneers in betting, in 2012, on electric vans.
Currently, they have 26-ton electric trucks and another 26 electric vans for their deliveries, making it the company with the largest electric industrial fleet in Spain in terms of sustainable mobility and one of the five largest in Europe.
Others, such as the electric charging point installation company Etecnic, which is the third public operator in Spain in number of charging points and the first to be an SME, are directly dedicated to facilitating this type of mobility with public initiatives such as the network EVcharge recharging system, which in Catalonia is in more than 500 municipalities.
The scooter and bicycle rental company Lime, also Spanish, offers a sustainable alternative for commuting, which with this type of vehicle can be up to 25% more sustainable than the metro or even 70% more than a bus, according to a company study.
There are only 8% of Spanish cities with low emission zones
Low emission zones such as Madrid 360, which has reduced city center emissions by 31% since the implementation of measures such as a 100% clean bus fleet, have not yet been implemented in 92% of cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants who should according to the royal decree that regulated them in December.
These areas, which until now were being ineffectively replaced by pedestrian almonds, will have to be implemented by the municipalities before the end of 2023 or else they will have to return the subsidies received from Europe under the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR). .