A sustainable city model
Barcelona has long been concerned with ecological issues. In the early 2000s, the city adopted an ambitious renewable energy program, installing photovoltaic and thermal solar panels on all new buildings. Today, it is continuing its efforts, with the aim of becoming completely "decarbonized" by 2050. Since January1, 2020, pre-2000 gasoline and pre-2006 diesel vehicles have been banned from almost all of the Barcelonès comarca (territorial division). This 95 km² "low-emission zone" comprises: the whole of Barcelona, except for the districts of Vallvidrera, el Tibidabo, les Planes and the Zona Franca Industrial, as well as certain districts of the surrounding municipalities: l'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Sant Adrià del Besòs, Esplugues de Llobregat and Cornellà de Llobregat.
Former mayor Ada Colau had thought of introducing a congestion charge to limit traffic even more drastically, but the project was never implemented. At the same time, public transport and cycling are on the increase. The city now boasts a network of 204 kilometers of bike paths. Bincing, a self-service bicycle rental service, has been available since 2007, but is unfortunately not accessible to tourists. There are 17.71 m² of green spaces per inhabitant, including 86 parks and gardens. The Parc naturel de Collserola is one of the largest metropolitan parks in the world. Together with the Montjuïc hill, they provide the city with real breathing space. Of the 235,000 trees in the city, of 150 different species, the most common are the holm oak and Aleppo pine. The parks and gardens have been maintained to ISO 14001 standards since 2001, guaranteeing the sustainable management of these areas. There are 75 species of birds, and it's not unusual to come across bats and hedgehogs in the town.
Turquoise water threatened by plastic
By 2024, six of Barcelona's ten beaches (Bogatell, Mar Bella, Nova Mar Bella, Sant Sebastià, Somorrostro and Zona de Banys de Fòrum) had been awarded the Blue Flag, an international label guaranteeing excellent water quality. The quality of the other beaches is nonetheless very good. The rocks are home to a healthy marine fauna: salps, sea breams, red mullets and the occasional ray. Invertebrates are also present, including starfish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers and sea anemones. To learn all about the coastline, you need to visit the family beach at Somorrostro. There's an environmental awareness center for children and adults, with workshops, tours and games organized from March to September.
Posidonia, a precious ally against climate change
Artificial reefs have been installed off Barceloneta beach since 2004. They cover an area of 10 km², with 360 modules that mimic the rocky seabed, to provide a home for marine flora and fauna. The aim is to attract species typical of the Barcelona coast, such as cuttlefish, squid, halibut and sea bass.
Another element to be protected is posidonia, an underwater plant (not algae) that stores carbon C. It is found in the Mediterranean, but only occupies an area of 92 km² in the Catalan Sea. This has increased since the early 2000s, thanks to improvements in water quality, but there's still room for improvement. Barcelona City Council is committed to protecting Posidonia and is encouraging the expansion of Posidonia "meadows" in the neighboring municipalities of Garraf and Maresme, which border the city from east to west.
The war against plastic
Like other coastlines, Barcelona's waters are threatened by the evil of our century: plastic waste. In the sea, this waste decomposes into microplastics, which are extremely dangerous for marine fauna. Barcelona is the Mediterranean region most affected by this pollution. That's why the town has embarked on a "Zero Waste" initiative, with the slogan: "The best waste is the waste we don't produce". Beach-goers are invited to dispense with single-use packaging and use the garbage cans. Beach bars now serve drinks in reusable, returnable cups.
With only 30% of waste collected in separate garbage cans, Barcelona was a long way from its target of 50% recycled waste by 2020. This hasn't stopped it from adopting a new strategy to combat waste, with a target of 55% sorted waste by 2025. Among a host of measures, municipalities can now develop individualized collection and introduce taxes linked to the volume of household waste, to encourage people to sort.
Locals versus tourists?
Cruise ships discharge substances into the water that are hazardous to human health and ecosystems, notably sulfur dioxide. The former mayor made no secret of her desire to limit the number of authorizations granted to these boats to dock. She tried to convince the central government, in charge of port management, but by the end of October 2024 (Jaume Collboni has since become Barcelona's new mayor), no law along these lines had been passed.
A veggie-friendly city
The fight against global warming also involves reducing meat consumption. The city of Barcelona has understood this. The city declared itself "veggie-friendly" in 2016 and promotes a vegetarian diet. The city's administrative and public establishments do not serve meat on Mondays.
For organic fruit and vegetables, the Veritas chain is the most widespread in Spain. Another good idea: the Slow Food Barcelona association organizes an "Earth Market" every Saturday in the Parc des Tres Xemeneies, in the Poble Sec district. Here you'll find products that respect the environment, offered at "a fair price for those who buy and produce them", according to the organizers.
