From 1 July 2025, the Ajuntament will activate the penalty regime for the Low Emission Zone in Palma -Zona de Bajas Emisiones- (ZBE), a measure that will affect vehicles without an environmental badge entering the designated area. After a six-month sanction-free period, during which an informative and monitoring campaign has been carried out, the deputy mayor for Mobility, Toni Deudero, has confirmed that fines of 200 euros will start to be applied from next Tuesday. With this decision, the local government of the People’s Party reverses its position and will not maintain the suspension of fines until 31 December, as originally agreed with their coalition partners VOX.
ZBE map.
The ordinance affects the area between the Avenues and the seafront, and the 16 licence plate recognition cameras have detected since January only 1.8% of vehicles without a badge, indicating a high level of compliance. From 1 July, only vehicles with badge B, C, ECO, and zero emissions, as well as motorcycles and authorised vehicles, will be able to circulate freely within Palma’s Low Emission Zone (ZBE). For more information on the coverage area, types of affected vehicles, and badges, please consult this link.
Phases of implementation of the Low Emission Zone in Palma
Deudero has reminded that these restrictions will become progressively stricter: from January 2027, only vehicles with badge C, ECO, and zero emissions will be allowed, and from January 2030, only ECO, zero emissions, and authorised vehicles will be permitted. It will not be mandatory to display the badge visibly, as control is carried out through automatic licence plate recognition.
Deputy Mayor for Mobility, Toni Deudero. Photo: Ajuntament de Palma.
The councillor reiterated that Palma City Council, as has happened in other Spanish municipalities implementing the ZBE, “has prioritised citizens’ concerns by implementing a moratorium to provide time for informing and raising awareness about the new regulation and its implications.” With this restrictive measure, “the Ajuntament complies with the ordinance, although periodic measurements show that Palma’s city centre generates the least pollution, which does not prevent its application due to central government requirements.”
Opposition criticisms
The PSOE municipal group in Palma has denounced the government’s improvisation and criticised the U-turn in applying the ZBE, especially after having voted just three weeks ago to extend the moratorium until the end of the year. The Socialist spokesperson, Xisco Ducrós, regretted that “they have failed to manage such an important issue for citizens properly” and accused the local government of “lying to everyone despite being fully aware of the regulations.”
Meanwhile, the deputy spokesperson, Francesc Dalmau, stated that “they have deceived the public” and criticised that no complementary measures have been promoted: “Frequencies of EMT buses have not been increased, the cycling network has not been expanded, pedestrian areas have not been improved, and nothing has been done to facilitate sustainable mobility in the affected area.”
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