The plenary session of the Salt City Council approved this Monday a motion by Independents per Salt-CUP to demand measures to improve air quality in the municipality. The proposal was passed with 17 votes in favor from IPS-CUP, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, Junts per Catalunya, and the PSC, while Vox voted against.
The initiative focuses on a paradox that the municipal debate exposed. Salt denounces the impact of a highway next to the urban center, constant air traffic, and the entry of six million vehicles last year, but it does not have current data on the state of the air the population breathes.
The plenary session requested a fixed station and sensors in areas with the most traffic
The motion calls on the Generalitat de Catalunya to install a fixed monitoring station and a network of sensors to monitor PM10 and PM2.5 particles, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and other gases. The text proposes prioritizing areas with the most traffic and highest population density.
In addition, the agreement requires that pollution data be public and that Catalonia adopt the WHO pollution limits before 2026. The text also urges the city council to promote an Environmental Health Protection Plan.
This municipal plan should include sustainable mobility, more green spaces, and energy rehabilitation. The proposal adds another line of action in educational centers by proposing the installation of sensors and an increase in vegetation in local institutes to involve the educational community.
Marta Guillaumes argued that the motion links public health and the right to breathe clean air
Marta Guillaumes, councilwoman, valued the plenary session's support after the vote.
"The favorable vote for this motion represents a clear commitment to public health and the right of citizens to breathe quality air" - Marta Guillaumes, councilwoman
In a second statement, Guillaumes framed the approval within the health and climate debate opened in recent hours by the World Health Organization.
"It is a small collective step forward that is absolutely aligned with the report that the World Health Organization published just yesterday, calling for the expansion of local and community solutions for climate and health" - Marta Guillaumes, councilwoman
IPS-CUP linked the proposal with data published by Diari de Girona that placed Girona at the forefront of Catalan capitals in microscopic particle pollution. The party maintains that this context also affects Salt due to its proximity and the traffic pressure on the urban environment.
In that argument, the group stressed that the highway runs alongside the urban center, that there is constant air traffic, and that last year six million vehicles entered the area. The municipal claim stems from this combination of traffic pressure and a lack of updated measurements.
The approved text also sets the goal that reliable data will guide concrete decisions to protect the population's health. The motion requests that the control network measure PM10, PM2.5, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and other gases, with priority for areas with high traffic and population density.