Low Emission Zones (Zona de Bajas Emisiones or ZBEs in Spanish) aim to help reduce air pollution in Spain’s urban areas by 2050, in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement, as well as to make sure vehicles are cleaner and more sustainable.
They started to be mandatory in 2023 for some municipalities as part of the Spanish government’s climate change and energy transition legislation.
On January 1st 2026, however, the government's extension for cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants and all the Spanish islands to have a ZBE will end, meaning they will have to have implemented one or at least be in the process of doing so.
ZBEs affect those who have vehicles that do not have an environmental label and means drivers should be aware of this system before entering certain urban centres.
The below cities currently have ZBEs in process, which if all goes to plan, should be completed before January 2026. It's worth keeping in mind though that many municipalities have fallen behind in the past and have not met required deadlines, so there may be some delays.
Catalonia:
Girona
Manresa
Granollers
Mataró
Santa Coloma de Gramenet
Castelldefels
Vilanova I la Geltrú
Tarragona
Reus
Sant Boi de Llobregat
Rubí
Asturias:
Oviedo
Gijón
Avilés
Castilla y León:
León
Zamora
Palencia
Burgos
READ ALSO: Changes to vehicle emission stickers in 2026
Cantabria:
Santander
Basque Country:
Vitoria-Gasteiz
Irún
Galicia:
Vigo
Ourense
Lugo
La Rioja:
Logroño
Aragón:
Huesca
Valencia:
Valencia city
Torrent
Castelló de la Plana
Vila-real
Sagunt
Alcoy
Gandia
Paterna
Elda
Torrevieja
Sant Vicent del Raspeig
Murcia:
Murcia city
Lorca
Balearic Islands:
Calvià
Eivissa
READ ALSO: How to get an emissions sticker for your car in Spain
Castilla-La Mancha:
Cuenca
Albacete
Ciudad Real
Toledo
Talavera de la Reina
Madrid:
Aranjuez
Alcalá de Henares
Leganés
Pinto
Parla
Pinto
San Sebastián de los Reyes
Majadahonda
Collado Villalba
Colmenar Viejo
Extremadura:
Cáceres
Mérida
Andalusia:
Huelva
Dos Hermanas
Utrera
Alcalá de Guadaíra
Jerez de la Frontera
Cádiz
San Fernando
Chiclana de la Frontera
Algeciras
Marbella
Mijas
Benalmádena
There will also be changes to the ZBE in Madrid, where vehicles without an environmental sticker from Spain's General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) will be permanently banned from circulating throughout the entire municipality, including the M-30 and M-40 ring roads.
According to the latest study by the Cetelem Observatory on Spaniards' habits regarding sustainable urban mobility, pressure on municipalities and citizens is having a noticeable impact on vehicle purchases.
Low Emission Zones (LEZs) affect almost half of the country's population. A total of 45.5 percent of Spaniards surveyed live in or regularly travel to a Low Emission Zone with access, circulation, and parking restrictions for the most polluting vehicles.
According to the study, 8 out of 10 Spaniards know which label they want for their car and will choose the make and model accordingly.
READ ALSO: Can I get a low-emissions sticker for my car if I'm visiting Spain?
Alex Dunham, The Local Spain editor
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