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A Win-Win Partnership! June 14, 2006 marked the culmination of an extensive planning process when Technology and Action for Rural Advancement (TARA) and the Community Development Carbon Fund (CDCF) of the World Bank entered into a strategic partnership to promote the Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln (VSBK) technology by utilizing carbon credits
his is a unique partnership that will work towards faster adoption of VSBK by benefiting the entrepreneurs and the brick workers while contributing to the reduction of the global warming phenomena.
Under the TARA-CDCF partnership, TARA will facilitate installation of 126 VSBKs, thus leading to greenhouse gas reduction as compared to prevalent technologies. CDCF will purchase the emission reductions from TARA, who will act as the bundling agency for the 126 VSBKs. TARA has till date been assisted by Development Alternatives in designing this project as it has already developed an expertise in bundling small CDM projects. Key Features of the Partnership n Additional income for the entrepreneurs Since the success of the entire project is dependent upon the entrepreneurs adopting and operating the environment friendly technology, adequate incentive for them to participate has been ensured. They will be able to earn up to Rs. 1 lakh annually from the carbon revenues alone, depending on the number of bricks produced and the efficient operation of the kiln. This will enable them to recover the technology fee to be paid to TARA in one year and almost 80% of total investment in 7-8 years from the carbon revenues alone. n Better working atmosphere for the brick kiln workers The project has been designed to ensure improved safety and health for the workers. Since the occupational health and safety hazards are high in the brick kilns, the workers will be provided with personal protective equipments (e.g. helmets, shoes etc.) on a regular basis. Minimal exposure to harmful air borne particles such as fly ash and coal dust will be ensured through proper storage. As a social security measure, each worker will have access to health and accident insurance of Rs. 1 lakh, the annual premium for which will be paid from the carbon revenues. 5040 brick workers will be benefited from this per year for the next 10 years. n Benefits to the environment VSBK being a highly energy efficient kiln as compared to the traditional brick technologies such as clamps and Moving Chimney Bull Trench Kilns, it results in coal savings of 30-60%. This translates into a reduction of carbon-di-oxide emissions from 911 tonnes per annum to 403 tonnes per annum. Therefore, over 10 years, the total emissions reduced from the project activities will be approximately 4 lakh tones of carbon-dioxide. Utilisation of Funds n Incentive to entrepreneurs As already mentioned, each entrepreneur can earn a substantial amount of additional income by adopting and operating the technology. Almost Rs. 8 crore (61% of carbon revenues) have been earmarked for this purpose. n Social security and health benefits to workers For provision of insurance facilities and personal protective equipments to brick workers at 126 sites, about Rs. 1.53 crores (11% of carbon revenues) will be spent from the carbon revenues. Marketing and technical support services In order to promote the environment friendly VSBK technology on a commercial scale, TARA will undertake the marketing of the technology, provide the support services to entrepreneurs, ensure good environmental performance of the kilns and co-ordinate the procedures related to monetizing of carbon credits. For these functions of TARA, it will utilize Rs. 2.3 crores (17% of the carbon revenues) over the ten year period of the partnership. Services related to issuance and approval of carbon credits The CDCF, on behalf of TARA and the entrepreneurs, will undertake the responsibility of obtaining the necessary approvals for the project at both the national and international (CDM Executive Board) levels for which certain costs will have to be incurred regularly, including those for monitoring and verification of emission reductions annually. It will therefore utilize almost 11% of the total carbon revenues (amounting to almost Rs. 1.5 crores) A win-win situation for all! The partnership attains uniqueness from the fact that it uses carbon finance as an innovative developmental tool. The idea of the partnership is not philanthropy but to promote sustainable businesses that takes care of their environment and the affected people. This partnership is a win-win for all as it promotes economic gains for the environment friendly technology adopters, social security for the workers and reduced impacts on the environment. q Udit Mathur umathur@devalt.org
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To put things in perspective, global warming and
consequent climate change have lately become issues of interest and
serious concern for scientists, governments and the public at large.
Sectors such as industries, transportation and energy are the main
sources of emission of greenhouse gases ( eg carbon-dioxide, methane )
that lead to global warming. Under the international treaty to stop
further global warming, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has
been devised to help business sector earn additional revenues for
undertaking greenhouse gas emission reducing projects. The tonnes of
greenhouse gases reduced/avoided through project activities can be sold
in the international carbon market. The CDCF of the World Bank is one
such entity that buys carbon credits from projects that are relatively
small in nature but promote sustainable development on a large scale.