After a wide scale protests against summer tourismBarcelona is trying to turn a negative into a positive by spending some of the money raised from the city's visitor tax to tackle issues caused by climate change.
Barcelona is one of the most visited cities in Europe, and for many of Barcelona's 1.6 million inhabitants, tourism is seen as the cause of a growing number of problems. growth, such as housing shortages, rising prices and changing neighborhoods.
“The urban fabric is completely destroyed,” Barcelona resident Fernando told CBS News. He lives in an area popular with tourists for its houses. -food and bars.
“This area in particular, you know, I've lived here for over 20 years and it's just, slowly becoming, like, soulless. I'd say 50% of the buildings here just for temporary use, you know, for rent,” he said.
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“If it was like interesting cultural art and that kind of clientele, that would be much better for everyone,” said Barcelona resident Elizabeth, who works at a hotel, to CBS News. “But there are people who only come to party, drink and just don't care about the city. That's the problem.”
But Barcelona is among several cities in southern Europe that have another problem: the increasingly serious effects of climate change. In recent years, it has been drier and warmer, and it has been intense and dangerous heat waves and drafts.
Rising temperatures have become a problem for city infrastructure such as public schools, many of which lack air conditioning, as extreme summer heat extends into the year school
At one public school in Barcelona, Mia, an 11-year-old student, told CBS News that it's hard to focus when it's hot.
“It's very difficult,” she said.
Her partner Theo agreed.
“Sometimes when you're like him, in class, and you've just come out to play football, it's very hot,” Theo said.
But this year, for the first time, Mia and Theo have air conditioning at school, after a system was installed over the summer. It was paid for using money raised from Barcelona's tourist tax – a small tax levied on visitors.
“The tourist tax is what tourists who visit our city pay when they stay in a hotel or in a tourist apartment,” Barcelona Deputy Mayor Laia Bonet told News CBS. “The ability to use this revenue, the tourist tax, for such a project is very important so that we can accept tourism in our city and the role of tourism.” .”
Barcelona City Hall has launched a program to install energy-efficient heat pumps and solar panels in the city's 170 public schools over six years. The goal is to provide air conditioning while also decarbonizing by replacing old gas-powered heating systems. He is investing the equivalent of about $100 million in the project, all of which comes from the tourism tax.
“I think this is the best way to connect tourism to… the necessary fight against climate change,” said Bonet, adding that tourism tax funding for the program “is a very important contribution. “
“It makes a difference,” Bonet said.
But anti-tourism activist Agnes Rodriguez says that in using money raised from tourists, the city is missing the point.
“The government should be doing this without relying on tourism… it's public health,” Rodriguez told CBS News. “If you are coming to Barcelona tonight, to Chicago or to New York, and you live in a tourist apartment where your family should live, you are part of the city this is changing. You are affecting the lives of people who live. there.”
Rodriguez says that Barcelona's residents, not tourists, should be at the heart of the city's fight against climate change.
“We're not a theme park. We're not Disney World. So we want to continue as a city and be able to live here,” she said.
