Bangladesh project to offset climate conference emissions
A climate project in Bangladesh will help offset the emissions released by delegates travelling to the COP15 conference
A new agreement between Denmark, the World Bank and Bangladesh has laid the foundation for an ambitious climate project in Bangladesh to ensure the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen will be fully carbon neutral.
The project, to which the Danish government has contributed 5.3 million kroner, will replace many of the old, heavily polluting brickwork factories in the capital of Dhaka with 20 new energy-efficient plants.
The new project will spare the environment more than 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year and help to markedly improve the air quality in one of the world’s most polluted cities.
‘Bangladesh is one of the countries hardest hit by climate change and there’s a great need to assist the country with technology and capital contributions,’ Climate Minister Connie Hedegaard said.
‘In addition, the project will result in significant environmental improvements for the local community, where particle pollution from the existing old brickworks is clearly visible.’
Hedegaard said the project was one of many sustainable climate projects in the Third World and explained that it was designed to compensate for the greenhouse emissions from the delegates’ flights to the climate summit in Copenhagen.
Another goal of the Bangladesh project was to show that climate projects could benefit the poorest countries and that climate technology went hand in hand with sustainable development and improving living standards, Hedegaard said.
As part of its Kyoto commitments, the government will also implement around 60 other sustainable environment projects in Eastern Europe and developing countries with a focus on renewable energy, upgrading of energy supplies and the recovery of methane from landfills.
