An in-depth analysis of the real emissions caused by transport in San Sebastián
Spain 2024
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OPUS carried out a study of the real-world road traffic emissions in the municipality of San Sebastián, thanks to the collection of empirical measurements of the emissions of circulating traffic at four points in or near the Low Emission Zone (LEZ), carried out between December 2023 and September 2024. The objective of the study was to characterize the pollutant emissions of the circulating fleet in this part of the city.
Thanks to the deployment of portable RSDs, we analyzed in detail the NOx, CO, PM and HC emissions from road transport, analyzing each pollutant according to the type of vehicle, age, type of fuel and environmental badge, also calculating emission factors compatible with traffic and air quality models.
The results show that, except in the case of unburned hydrocarbons (HC), vehicles without a Spanish “sticker” are on average the most polluting vehicles, especially in terms of PM, which is the most critical pollutant in terms of air pollution. They are followed by vehicles with a “class B” label, especially in terms of NOx.
The study also included an estimate of the impact that each group of vehicles has on the total environmental pollution caused by road traffic in the municipality. The modeling showed that the policy of restricting traffic to vehicles without environmental stickers (the oldest vehicles) and vehicles with a B sticker is more effective than doing so for vehicles with other environmental stickers.
Related to
OPUS carried out a study of the real-world road traffic emissions in the municipality of San Sebastián, thanks to the collection of empirical measurements of the emissions of circulating traffic at four points in or near the Low Emission Zone (LEZ), carried out between December 2023 and September 2024. The objective of the study was to characterize the pollutant emissions of the circulating fleet in this part of the city.
Thanks to the deployment of portable RSDs, we analyzed in detail the NOx, CO, PM and HC emissions from road transport, analyzing each pollutant according to the type of vehicle, age, type of fuel and environmental badge, also calculating emission factors compatible with traffic and air quality models.
The results show that, except in the case of unburned hydrocarbons (HC), vehicles without a Spanish “sticker” are on average the most polluting vehicles, especially in terms of PM, which is the most critical pollutant in terms of air pollution. They are followed by vehicles with a “class B” label, especially in terms of NOx.
The study also included an estimate of the impact that each group of vehicles has on the total environmental pollution caused by road traffic in the municipality. The modeling showed that the policy of restricting traffic to vehicles without environmental stickers (the oldest vehicles) and vehicles with a B sticker is more effective than doing so for vehicles with other environmental stickers.