We talk about water to talk about the environment
When we talk about the environment, we are basically referring to three areas, the water cycle, waste and the environment, in which today the Barcelona Metropolitan Area has jurisdiction both in management and in its legislative capacity.
Water is a non-infinite common good that must be preserved to guarantee the continuity of the life cycle, and the water cycle is also a vital process for the maintenance and stability of the Planet.
Water cycle in Barcelona Metropolitan Area
The AMB has competence regarding the Water Cycle in:
- Domestic supply of drinking water or low supply.
- Sanitation of water collected for its use.
- Sewage Treatment.
- Regeneration of treated water for other uses.
- Coordination of municipal sanitation and sewage systems.
- Rate regulation.
Regarding waste management and everything, and that the Society is increasingly aware of the importance of recycling for the conservation and maintenance of the Environment and biodiversity, we are still far from the objectives set by the European Union. According to EU guidelines for this 2020, a municipal selective collection rate of 50% should have been achieved. This index has only been achieved by 9 municipalities in the Metropolitan Area (3% of the total population), with the AMB average being 38%. It is worth noting the importance of continuing to work in this area if we want to achieve the limit of 70% established by the EU by 2030.
In the field of waste, the AMB intervenes competently in:
- Treatment of municipal waste and works as well as its recovery and dumping of non-recyclable waste.
- Coordination of municipal collection systems.
- Choice and selection of packaging.
At the Environmental level, the role of the AMB is of vital importance because the Metropolitan Area is a space with a high population and industrial density, with the policies applied having a direct impact on the environment. In the same way, these policies must also take private companies into account so that the legislation is feasible with the productive and economic fabric of the Sector.
Thus, environmental policies must be innovated and applied so that they conform to the European Commission's roadmap "A low-carbon economy by 2050" by applying the package of measures on climate and energy by 2030 and doing it in a collaborative and gradual manner taking into account the Private Sector.
Environmental competences in the AMB
Competences of the AMB in the Environment:
- Metropolitan action plan for the protection of the environment, health and biodiversity and the fight against climate change.
- Noise pollution and issuance of environmental reports.
- Municipal collaboration in environmental management policies.
- Promotion and management of installation of renewable energies.
Having taken a first photo of the situation of the Metropolitan Area and the current powers of the AMB, from BDF we believe it is necessary to promote the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona as a superior Entity with legislative and management capacity to provide efficient service to an area made up of 36 municipalities and 636 km2 with a population of more than 3 million inhabitants.
This management will only be possible to give it efficiently through the formula of the mixed management of public-private collaboration, understanding it as“the different forms of cooperation between public authorities and the business world, whose objective is to guarantee the financing, construction, renovation, management or maintenance of an infrastructure or the provision of a service”(according to the Green Book of the European Commission); In this way, it is possible to combine the capacities and virtues of the two sectors for the sake of the common good, which is none other than having a quality, self-sufficient, sustainable and respectful Service with the Environment.