Almeida's 'green' turn: from requesting the repeal of Madrid Central to complying with air quality limits for the first time in history

• Tribuna Madrid, finally, breathe;

  by Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida

Among the electoral posters with the slogan

and the presentation of pollution data with which Madrid complies for the first time with the European air quality regulations, four years of José Luis Martínez's mandate have passed. -Almeida at the head of the Madrid City Council, which is about to close.

And the campaign for the new elections, where the mayor aspires to be re-elected, seems to be fought on different terms than that of 2019, where Madrid Central was one of the battlehorses against Manuela Carmena.

Because yesterday, in his first appearance of the year that will lead to the municipal polls, Almeida

: the improvement in air quality data in the capital.

For the first time since they were recorded (2008) Madrid has complied with European regulations and, also for the first time since it came into force, the anti-pollution protocol (2015) has not had to be applied in the capital.

"This demonstrates that to improve air quality it is not necessary to harm the economy or opt only for restrictive policies," the councilor said yesterday in the presentation of the data.

According to these, the average value of the 24 measuring stations in the city was 28.29 micrograms of nitrogen dioxide when the limit set by Europe is 40.

than the 53 it registered in 2018 with the Government of Más Madrid.

A drop that was also recorded in others such as Escuelas Aguirre, in Retiro, or Plaza de España and Plaza de Carmen, in the Center.

It is precisely Plaza de España that has experienced the greatest reduction in emissions in this four-year period, going from 43 to 25 micrograms

of nitrogen dioxide per cubic meter, 41.86% less in four years.

They are followed by Escuelas Aguirre, with a decrease of 38.18%;

Plaza del Carmen, 31.11% less, and Cuatro Caminos, with a drop of 28.57%.

And in 2022, none of the Madrid stations exceed the limit of 40, while in 2018 there were seven.

"There is not a station in which the data has not improved compared to 2018," said the mayor yesterday, who saw his message reinforced for the electoral campaign with the non-compliance with the European directive of Barcelona, ​​the other city that it had been warned by Europe for its problems with air quality.

«

.

If we had failed to comply, they would be saying that we kill people, "they point out from the environment of the first Madrid mayor.

However, from the opposition, they point out that "this is not the time to puff up" because Madrid has met the standards set by Brussels at a minimum.

The councilor for Más Madrid Esther Gómez assured that the current figures will be "revised downwards" during this year and that "only two" of the 24 stations will end up meeting the nitrogen dioxide values.

The municipal spokesperson for the PSOE, Mar Espinar, stressed that

and Madrid does not implement "more ambitious measures."

"

," said the mayor, who cited the elimination of all diesel buses from the Municipal Transport Company, the ban on the most polluting vehicles to circulate inside the M-30 from January 1 or the implementation of a low emission zone in Plaza Elíptica, imitating the model of Central Madrid.

"I insist that the Madrid Central model was a failed model that would not have allowed us to comply with European regulations," Almeida said yesterday when asked about his opposition to the Manuel Carmena low emission zone.

However,

and ruled out implementing more low-emission zones in the city for the moment.

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