A CDM-project under validation in Bangladesh, which involves
replacing outdated brick kilns in Dhaka, is set to ensure the COP15
will be climate neutral.
20 New Brick-making Factories
The Brick Kilns project will establish 20 new energy-efficient
brickworks in and around the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka,
replacing old heavily polluting kilns. The Chinese technology used
in the new kilns is first of its kind in Bangladesh and it will
reduce coal consumption during brick production by 50 percent. In
addition the new kilns will emit an annual 100,000 tonnes less CO2
into the atmosphere than the old kilns.
New technique and Kilns
The brick making technique mixes pulverized coal with wet clay to
form green bricks. The green bricks are then dried in specific
chambers heated by excess heat from the kilns. After drying, the
bricks are transferred to the kilns and burnt by the coal inside
the bricks as well as from granulated coal fed from holes in the
roof of the kilns. This burning process reduces fuel usage
dramatically and hence also reduces significantly the CO2
emissions. The project as such contributes to a considerable
improvement in local air quality in one of the world’s most
polluted metropolitan cities.
Permanent Workforce
With these new kilns, the brick making production in Bangladesh is
transferred from a seasonal activity to an all year round activity.
Hence, the employees are also transferred into a permanent
workforce with higher permanent salaries partly also because
seasonal workers usually are employed through middlemen who take
their shares in the annual hiring process. This system is
simultaneously abolished with the introduction of the new kiln
technique.
Partners
The project is developed in cooperation with the World Bank
Community Development Carbon Fund and IIDFC anchored with a local
financial entity. The financial entity also provides loans to the
establishment of the brick kilns.
Social and Sustainable Development
The Community Development Carbon Fund pays particular attention to
the social and sustainable development of the project including
occupational health and safety activities as sanitary latrines,
shower facilities for men and women, security equipment, regular
visits by doctors etc.
The Brick Kilns project is an excellent example that CDM can
contribute to both social and sustainable development as well as
paving the way for a significantly improved cleaner climate in
Dhaka and in Bangladesh.