Reducing Emissions and Air Pollution from the Informal Sector: Evidence from Bangladesh

In the eighth most populated country in the world, millions of Bangladeshis are vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The low-lying nation is susceptible to sea level rise and has some of the worst ranked air quality in the world. This is largely due to insufficiently operated coal-burning brick kilns in Bangladesh’s informal economic sector. Paradoxically, these kilns help produce in-demand construction materials vital to the country's economic development, but are pushing local air quality to critical levels.

Bangladesh has experienced a brick manufacturing boom in the past several decades, producing significant particulate matter and black carbon emissions, along with 17 percent of total annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Air pollution caused by these emissions is also linked to severe health conditions in Bangladesh, such as stroke, heart disease and pulmonary disease. Despite this, the country's large working-age population is drawn to the profitable industry; approximately 8,000 brick kilns operate for part of the year in Bangladesh, employing around a million people and producing $3.6 billion in product, the equivalent of 1.3 percent of the GDP.

In a forthcoming study, Nina Brooks, Core Faculty Member of the Human Capital Initiative at the Boston University Global Development Policy Center and Assistant Professor of Global Health with the Boston University School of Public Health, and coauthors examine the intersection of climate change, air pollution and economic development in Bangladesh. Their research examines past reforms efforts in the informal brick industry, and the challenge of realizing a correctly operated, profitable zigzag kiln. Brooks will present results from a randomized, controlled trial in Bangladesh that introduced operational practices to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions from kilns. The trial resulted in notable outcomes, including a measured decrease in CO2, PM2.5 emissions and energy use, as well myriad overall social benefits.

On Wednesday, October 23, 2024, 12:30-2:00 PM EDT, join Nina Brooks for a hybrid research seminar on reducing emissions and air pollution in the informal sector with evidence from Bangladesh.

This seminar is part of the Fall 2024 Human Capital Initiative Research Seminar Series. Lunch will be provided for attendees.

Register to attend via Zoom: https://bostonu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYkcu-rrjMvH9Z8NFpIOMhGCIYE7sR0tLi0

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