Low emission zone of Sant Just Desvern approved

The Plenary of the Sant Just Desvern City Council, in its session on October 29, 2026, and once the submitted allegations were resolved, has definitively approved the municipality’s Low Emission Zone Project and the ordinance regulating the restriction of access, circulation, and parking of certain vehicles. The full text is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Barcelona on November 6, 2026, with the reference CVE 202610165881 and pages 1 to 27, and comes into force the day after publication.

The regulation deploys the measure included in the Metropolitan Program of measures against atmospheric pollution and complies with article 14 of Law 7/2021, of May 20, on climate change and energy transition, and Decree 132/2024, of July 30, which approves the Air Quality Plan horizon 2027. The Project was drafted by the Metropolitan Institute and promoted by the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) and the city council itself. The ordinance consists of four chapters, fifteen articles, two transitional provisions, one repealing provision, one final provision, and four annexes.

Restrictions from Monday to Friday, from 7 am to 8 pm

The prohibition applies to all working days, from Monday to Friday, between 7:00 am and 8:00 pm, in the part of the Low Emission Zone delimited within the municipal boundary according to annex 1. The affected vehicles are those considered the most polluting: categories 2L, M, and N that have not been assigned any environmental badge, according to annex 2.

Compliance control is carried out automatically through a license plate reading system and the AMB technological platform, without prejudice to the powers of the Local Police. The zone must be marked at access points with the signage enabled by the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT).

200 euro fines and sanctioning regime from December 1

Failure to respect the restrictions of the Low Emission Zone is a serious infringement typified in article 76, letter z3, of the revised text of the Law on traffic, circulation of motor vehicles and road safety, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 6/2015. The sanction is 200 euros, according to article 80.1 of the same regulation.

• The fine increases by 30% in case of recidivism, understood as more than one infringement of the same nature in one year declared by a final resolution.
• The income from the sanctions is used to finance sustainable mobility actions.
• Chapter 4, which establishes the sanctioning regime, comes into force on December 1, 2026.

Exemptions, authorizations, and metropolitan registry

Vehicles for the transport of people with reduced mobility, emergency and essential services, those intended for people with illnesses or disabilities that restrict the use of public transport, and foreign-registered vehicles with technological requirements equivalent to the stickers that allow access are exempt from the restriction. In all cases, valid registration in the Metropolitan Registry of foreign vehicles and other vehicles authorized in low emission zones, managed by the AMB, is required.

Authorizations can also be obtained in cases such as:

• Daily authorization for sporadic access, with a maximum of 24 per year, extendable by mayoral decree.
• Temporary authorization for unique vehicles, extraordinary events, periodic medical treatments, and workshop tests.
• Holders who are missing a maximum of five years of contributions to retirement, with authorization renewable until December 1, 2031.
• Family units with incomes lower than twice the IPREM, with the multiplier expanded according to the number of members (from 2 to 4), with a renewable one-year validity.
• Holders who prove the purchase of a new vehicle with equivalent requirements and vehicles for agricultural or livestock activity with a valid DUN.

Background and appeal process

The municipality belongs to air quality zone 1, declared a special atmospheric environment protection zone by Decree 226/2006 of the Generalitat de Catalunya, where nitrogen dioxide and PM10 particle limit values have historically been exceeded.

The agreement bears the signature of the mayor, Joan Basagañas i Camps, dated November 4, 2026, and reference SEC 2025 119 43. An administrative contentious appeal against the final approval of the Project may be filed before the Administrative Contentious Section of the Court of First Instance of Barcelona within two months, and against the ordinance before the Administrative Contentious Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia within the same period.

The measure affects all drivers accessing the urban center, including residents with vehicles without a sticker, who must apply to the metropolitan registry if they wish to avail themselves of an exemption or authorization. With the immediate entry into force of the text and the application of sanctions starting December 1, Sant Just Desvern joins the traffic restrictions already in effect in the Barcelona metropolis.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Barcelona, November 6, 2026, Local Administration, pp. 1-27 (official reference: CVE 202610165881).