Kathmandu, Nepal – Two days of discussion here among experts
from 11 countries have concluded that significant progress is possible
against the health, agriculture and climate damage caused by much of the
brick production in the world.Participants at the “South-South Exchange Workshop on Brick Technology and
Policy” identified solutions, such as modern brickmaking technologies,
which produce far less pollution that older technologies; alternative
building materials, such as fly ash; and increased political recognition of
the problems, especially in the major brick making countries of Asia, Latin
America, and Africa.
Participants also emphasized the importance of inter-ministerial
coordination among ministries of housing, industry, health, agriculture and
environment to achieve large-scale reductions at the national level.
Bricks are a primary construction material used in many regions, and brick production is
known to be a highly polluting activity, resulting in emissions of
short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), such as black carbon, along with a
range of other pollutants.
The Workshop was convened by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce
Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC) and jointly hosted by the National
Institute of Ecology in Mexico and the International Centre for Integrated
Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu.
In his opening address, Secretary Krishna Gyawali of the Ministry of
Industry in Nepal emphasized the urgency of the problem, noting that the
brick sector consumes more than 50 percent of the total coal in Nepal. He
noted the importance of continued research on black carbon by ICIMOD and
others in relation to the melting of the Himalayas and glaciers around the
world. “It is time now to accelerate mitigation of black carbon and other
pollutants from key sources, such as brick kilns,” he said.
The majority of brick kilns in operation are traditional kilns, also
referred to as artisanal kilns. The primary fuels used to fire the bricks
are coal, wood, local biomass and any available low-cost fuel or scavenged
fuel, such as bunker fuel, waste oil, used tires, sawdust, plastics,
battery cases and dung. Limited access to electricity makes it a challenge
to modernize and mechanize the sector.
The CCAC will carry on the discussion and consider priorities for reducing
SLCPs from brick production at its next meeting in July 2013.
(Source: ICIMOD)
