Madrid’s low emission zone (LEZ) has been a long time in the making. As of January 2025, it’s fully implemented and covers the entire municipal area.
Madrid’s journey with its LEZ began in 2018 with the implementation of its first Central LEZ. Although this initial attempt was annulled in 2020 by the High Court of Justice of Madrid, it paved the way for a more comprehensive and ambitious approach to improving air quality in the city. This new approach materialised through the Madrid 360 Strategy and its revised LEZ, which expanded to encompass the entire municipality and was based on a more thorough analysis, starting in 2019.
The long road to implementation reflects the complexities…