Pakistan has approximately 20,000 brick kilns. Many are located around urban areas and contribute significantly to air pollution. Pakistan’s brick sector is highly unregulated and uncoordinated but is responsible for 1.5% of Pakistan’s Gross Domestic Product.
Traditional brick production in Pakistan consists of hand-made bricks which are baked in Fixed Chimney Bull's Trench Kilns, the most widely used brick firing technology in South Asia. This is one of the most polluting ways to produce bricks and is responsible for many social and environmental problems including air pollution, climate change, cardio-respiratory diseases, land use impacts and deforestation.
Different types of kilns and fuels make it difficult to accurately identify the make-up of air pollutants emitted by the sector, but they likely include sulfur oxides, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide (CO2), forms of particulate matter (PM) including black carbon, and additional compounds released by burning coal and other fuels.
The Environment Protection Department, Punjab (EPD, Punjab) and National Energy Efficient Conservation Authority (NEECA) is working with the All Bricks Kiln Owners Association of Pakistan to introduce environmentally friendly and cost-effective brick kiln technology. The project is facilitated by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).
Pakistan is a focus country for the CCAC’s Bricks Initiative which promotes and creates enabling environments that achieve substantial reductions of black carbon and other emissions from the sector and transform it into a healthier, more profitable, and socially responsible industry.
The Environment Protection Department, Punjab (EPD, Punjab) and National Energy Effficient Conversation Authority is working closely with the All Bricks Kiln Owners Association of Pakistan to introduce environmentally friendly and cost-effective brick kiln technology.
