On March 1, 2023, the Valencian EU Climate Pact Ambassadors met in Quart de Poblet on the occasion of the Climate and Environment Week. The meeting was organized by Juan Medina Cobo. Celsa Monrós from the Generalitat Valenciana explained the main features of the new Valencian law on climate change, which aims to put Valencia at the forefront of the European fight against climate change. Other ambassadors who participated were Carmen Marqués Ruiz, Jose Segarra Murria, Karla Zambrano González and myself.

We listened to an exciting presentation on the causes of climate change and the measures in the law to counteract climate change that must now be implemented.

Of particular interest was a slide on the contribution of each sector to climate change expressed in CO2 equivalents. However, this only means the share of emissions of the greenhouse gases CO2, methane and nitrous oxide.

However, when considering the climate change mitigation potential of the various sectors, air pollution from other pollutants, including particulate matter and especially the soot it contains, is missing. You can read about the fact that climate change can only be combated if air pollution is reduced in addition to CO2 emissions on the website of the renowned Helmholtz Center: https://www.rifs-potsdam.de/en/output/dossiers/air-pollution-and-climate-change.

As positive as the new law is in terms of CO2 emissions, Spain’s example, particularly CA Valenciana, is poor in terms of air pollution. CA Valenciana was the first municipality to suspend the ban on agricultural incineration in the new Article 27 (3) of the Waste Law, which has since been repealed by the Common Agricultural Policy Law for all of Spain. Studies in Germany show that a garden fire that burns for six hours produces 250 times more particulate matter than an old diesel bus that runs all day.

What use are driving bans for motor vehicles in the cities if the fires in the countryside continue to blow particulate matter unchecked and unfiltered?