Five brick makers get Tk 2.87cr off carbon credits

Five local brick manufacturers received a total of Tk 2.87 crore yesterday for reducing carbon emissions through the use of fuel efficient technology.

The five -- Kapita Auto Bricks, Eeta and Tiles, Banolata Refractory, Universal Bricks and Eco Brick – reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 65,603 tonnes using Hybrid Hoffman Kiln (HHK) technology between January 2018 and March 2020.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

The HHK technology uses a combination of powdered fuel and clay and captures the heat generated to dry brick in an adjacent tunnel, which leads to lower energy consumption and air pollution.

The emission reduction was certified by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

For this, Asian Development Bank paid $524,780 at a rate of $8 per tonne.

The exchange is run under a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the UNFCCC. It enables earning saleable certified emission reduction credits, each equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide, which can be counted towards meeting Kyoto targets.

The Industrial and Infrastructure Development Finance Company Ltd (IIDFC) has been running the CDM in Bangladesh since 2011.

In 2020, the IIDFC distributed cheques among six brick manufacturers for reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 77,628 tonnes between 2016 and 2017 using the same HHK technology.

Yesterday Md Matiul Islam, founder chairman of the IIDFC, handed over the cheques to owners and representatives of the five brick kilns at the IIDFC's head office in Dhaka.

It is estimated that 1 lakh pieces of bricks require 25 tonnes of coal in the traditional fixed chimney kilns, he said.

The HHK technology reduced this consumption by about 40 per cent to 45 per cent, he added.

CM Alam, owner of Kapita Auto Bricks, said he entered the sector not only for the profits but also to contribute towards a better environment for future generations.

Md Ataur Rahman Prodhan, chairman of the IIDFC and managing director of Sonali Bank, and Md Golam Sarwar Bhuyian, managing director of the IIDFC, were also present.