Balearic Islands to BAN all tourists from entering with diesel and petrol cars

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Balearic Islands to BAN all tourists from entering with diesel and petrol cars


Balearics Islands to BAN all tourists from entering with diesel and petrol cars as government plans tough new stance against CO2 emissions

The Spanish Balearics Islands of Majorca and Ibiza will ban tourists from entering with diesel vehicles from 2025  and from 2035 the ban will be widened to include tourist cars that are petrol.  

Anybody flouting the new laws from that time will get an official caution first and could be fined.  

Any tourist arriving from the mainland by boat who is 'oblivious' to the proposed new rules will first get a warning from the authorities before fines later come into force.

Locals will be exempt from the ban and will not have to scrap their cars but no new diesel cars can be purchased with effect from 2025 and petrol from 2035.

The moves comes as the islands' government takes a tough new stance to protect the 'endangered' environment from CO2 emissions.

This proposed ban will not apply to second-hand cars which have been bought on the islands.

A spokesman of the Balearic government, which is drafting the legislation said: "The aim is to gradually replace the car fleet until it is one hundred per cent electric by 2050."

By 2020, car rental firms will be told to have at least two per cent of their fleet in electric vehicles, rising to 100 per cent within the 15 years that follow.

It's estimated that 35 per cent of CO2 emissions in the Balearic Islands comes from road traffic.

The islands are also proposing the closure of power stations and the deployment of solar panels installed in large car parks, new buildings and industrial buildings of more than 1,000 square metres. The president of the Balearic government Francina Armengol said:
“The rules place the Balearics at the forefront of the communities in the fight against climate change with measures that accelerate the transition from diesel and gasoline to 100 per cent clean mobility, with electric public transport and vehicles.

“The goal is to lay the foundation for the future of the Balearic Islands to work fully with renewable energies and to grow smartly and sustainably, respecting what we most cherish: our territory and our environment.

“The proposed law is ahead of the future and looks to the long term, planning the society we want on the 2050 horizon, with concrete and timed measures.

“It will allow us to fulfill the international commitments acquired in the Paris Agreement.'

At the moment, only two per cent of the energy produced on the Balearics comes from renewable energy sources.”

the Balearic Government is also proposing other measures in their long-term environmental goals including telling large and medium-sized businesses to calculate and record their carbon footprint by 2020 and as of 2025 they will have to present reduction plans with binding minimum objectives.

Local councils on all of the islands will have to replace all public lighting with LED within five years.

The new emission rules will also affect motorcycles and vans but not, at this stage, boats.

The climate change proposals are about to go out to public consultation before being approved.









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Justin Kavanagh
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