Murcia is one of the biggest cities in Spain that still hasn’t put in place its Low Emission Zone (LEZ). Since 2023, all cities with more than 50,000 people have had to do this. Cities like Valencia, Gijón, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and Vitoria (all with more than 250,000 people) still don’t fully follow the national rules, even though they are the capital of the Segura area.
Bipi, the Renault Group’s car subscription service, used data from the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge to find that there are still 109 Spanish cities that do not have operational Low Emission Zones (LEZs). This number is 66% of towns with more than 50,000 people, which shows that these zones meant to cut down on pollution in cities are taking a long time to be put in place.
Murcia is one of the cities that is making progress, however slowly, towards setting up a Low Emission Zone (LEZ). Of the 109 cities that don’t have an LEZ, 89 (81.6%) are in the “in process” phase, which means that the projects are still being worked on but aren’t yet fully operational. The Ministry for Ecological Transition says that the last 20 cities (18.3%) are still in the “pending” phase, which is the most delayed stage.
LEZs are taking a long time to put into place
As of January 2026, only 56 cities in Spain have a Low Emission Zone in place. Together, they span 821 square kilometres of restricted land, which is only a little increase from 2025.
Right now, 56 cities in Spain have a Low Emission Zone in place
The Low Emission Zone (LEZ) covered 739 square kilometres in the middle of last year. Experts say that the 11% growth in area over the past six months is not enough to fulfil the climate goals that have been set.
The map of Low Emission Zones (LEZs) in Spain also indicates a large concentration of these zones in certain areas. Madrid has 605 square kilometres of restricted zones, which is 73.7% of the total. Barcelona comes next, with 95 square kilometres (11.6%), and Las Rozas de Madrid comes in a long way behind, with about 24 square kilometres (3%).
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In the meantime, Murcia is still waiting to turn on its Low Emission Zone (LEZ). This is happening at a time when there is increased demand from the government and society to improve air quality and move towards more sustainable transportation.
Author: Derek Appleton
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