Sustainable Dhaka - Towards Zero Emission

421-680 Engineering for Sustainable Environments

Prepared By

Nilufar Khundakar 346605

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Abstract
Dhaka is known as the ‘City of Pollution’ over the last few year and is suffering every
possible urban and environmental possible for the time. Designing sustainable Dhaka for
2030 towards zero emission is a great challenge. The main question comes here- is it
possible within this time frame? The paper demonstrates a brief over view of the problems
including pollution scenario of Dhaka and some thoughts to overcome it as well as some
arguments about Kyoto protocol. The main obstacle Dhaka needs to overcome is the lack of
future planning. As it is a very fast expanding capital, without proper planning and
management there is no possibility that Dhaka is going to solve the current saviour
environmental pollutions and can march towards zero emission.

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 Table of Contents

Abstract 2
1. Dhaka-a city of crowed and pollution 4
2. About Dhaka City 5
3. Energy Demand 6
4. Pollution in Dhaka 8
5. Planning for Sustainable Dhaka 11
5.1. Electricity 12
5.2. Transport 14
5.3. Water 15
5.4. Waste management 17
6. Kyoto target and some thinking 19
7. Life Cycle Diagram for Dhaka 21
8. Conclusion 21
References 22

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1. Dhaka- a city of crowd and pollution
Dhaka is the Capital city of Bangladesh having a population of 7million. Total area of Dhaka
is 153.84 square kilometres which means 45501 people is living in per square kilometre of
Dhaka at present. With very limited resources and very high urbanisation rate, Dhaka is
going to face greatest challenge ever to reach the standard of sustainability and minimum
emission. Present urbanisation rate of 6% is giving a projection that Dhaka will be the 5th
largest city at 2030 by population with a population growth rate of 4.2%. Sustainability for
Dhaka not only involves money but also feasibility and challenges. According to present
scenario Bangladesh has Per Capita GDP of $1400, 20.5 TFC recoverable Natural Gas
reserve and 482 million tonnes of coal reserve. The demand of electricity is approximately
12000MW and only 5493MW is on generation. Dhaka consumes 41.22% of the total
generated electricity. Still at present Dhaka is on 50% load shed policy. Amount of Sulphur
dioxide is 64-143ug/m3 and Nitrous oxide is 25-32ug/m3 which is one of the highest among
world. 85% supply of water to the city comes from ground water where Arsenic is a big
threat. With existing all these problems, sustainable Dhaka at 2020 towards zero emission is
real big challenge considering feasibilities and options. Alike most cities of the developing
world, Dhaka is also a poorly managed city as limited resources do not give any option for
the government to take effective plan for population control, services to people and build
infrastructures. Government of Bangladesh has a draft Renewable Energy Policy published
at October, 2002 and there is no data about how much renewable energy is generated up to
this date and what is the future target for the country. Dhaka as well as the whole country is
facing almost all of the urban problems that are imaginable. Inadequacies of urban
infrastructure and inefficient environment management system are leading this city to severe
environmental pollution and degradation of living standard and health and wealth being.

Image 1: Dhaka City

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2. About Dhaka City
Dhaka is situated between 23ᵒ42’ and 23ᵒ54’ north latitude and 90ᵒ20’ and 90ᵒ28’ east
latitudes. Dhaka is made of the areas of Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) and five adjacent
municipal areas i.e. Savar, Narayanganj, Gazipur, Kadamrasul and Tongi. According to
United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) the total population of Dhaka city is now over 12.3
million of which population of DCC is about 8.4 million. According to Bangladesh Bureau of
Statistics, population of Dhaka Mega City and DCC is about 9.9 million and 5.3 million
respectively. The population density of DCC is 19,286 per km2 which is more than double of
the mega city average of 7,918 per km2. The city is surrounded by the river Buriganga on
the south, Turag river on west, Tongi khal on the north and Balu river on the east
(Banglapedia, 2003). Dhaka usually experiences tropical monsoon with an annual average
temperature of 25ᵒC and 2000mm of average annual rainfall (DOE and IUCN, Bangla,
2000). The key organizations providing services to the people of the capital are Dhaka City
Corporation(DCC), Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority
(DWASA), Dhaka Electricity Supply Authority (DESA), Titas Gas Limited, Bangladesh
Telephone and Telegraph Board (BTTB), Rajdhani Unnyan Kortripakkha (RAJUK), Dhaka
Electricity Supply Company (DESCO) and Department of Environment (DoE) serving
dwellers with specific utilities. All the ministries and the Parliament is also situated in Dhaka.
Different authorities are serving for different parts of Dhaka. Dhaka Metropolitan Area (DMA)
is larger than the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) and currently holds 21 police stations.
Dhaka Statistical Metropolitan Area (DSMA) is considered as Dhaka Mega City. RAJUK has
a Strategic Planning Zone-wise definition of Dhaka City which is known as Dhaka
Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) which consists of 26 zones and 19 of them are in
Dhaka Statistical metropolitan Area.

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 Figure 1: map of Dhaka City

(Map of Dhaka City, Images of Dhaka, accessed May 15, 2010, from <
http://yogsutra.com/image/Dhaka-City-Map.gif> )

3. Energy Demand
There is no current data available for the future energy demand of Dhaka city. Government
of Bangladesh has a plan to increase the electricity generation of the country to 35000MW
by 2030 but there is no background data to understand what the reasons to set up that goal
are. There is no data or any study found that calculated the energy demand on future
projected population. The current electricity demand is approximately 12000MW and nearly
42% is been used by Dhaka city. So the approximate demand at the year 2020 for Dhaka is
5056MW. Bangladesh has per capita energy consumption of 160.9 kgoe/a (‘Per capita

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energy consumption’, in Wikipedia, assessed 18 April, 2010, from <
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_energy_consumption_per_capita >), which
is still very low comparing to developed countries. It gives an option for Dhaka to go for more
energy consumption. Still Dhaka should take the approach of Vancouver which has reduced
its GHG emission by 11% from their peak on 2000 and now on the track to meet the Kyoto
target. (‘Kyoto target of per capita energy’, in Pulse Energy , accessed 18 April, 2010, from <
http://www.pulseenergy.com/news/press-releases/vancouver-on-course-to-meet-or-exceed-
kyoto-targets >)

The total generation of electricity in Bangladesh at present can be described as follows:

Hydro 230MW(4.19%)
Steam 2638MW(48.03%)
Gas turbine 997MW(18.15%)
Combined Cycle 1359MW(24.74%)
Diesel 269MW(4.89%)
Total 5493MW(100%)

Electricity consumption pattern of Bangladesh is as follows:

Figure 2: Electricity Consumption pattern of Bangladesh

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Electricity consumption in different sectors of the country can be described as:

Figure 3: Sector wise electricity consumption of Bangladesh

(“Power generation and distribution in Bangladesh”. Bangladesh Power Development Board.

March 15,2010. < http://www.bpdb.gov.bd/distribution.htm)

4. Pollution in Dhaka
Dhaka is called the ‘City of Pollution’ now-a-days. The city is expanding in all directions but
the existing capacity of various utilities cannot meet the increasing demands. Air pollution in
Dhaka is seriously poisoning life and degrading environment in last few years. The World
Health organisation (WHO) says vehicular air pollution is the major source of respiratory
distress for the citizens. The amounts of vehicles are increasing 10% per year increasing air
pollution and traffic congestion. At present more than 296,000 motor vehicles are running in
the streets of Dhaka. The main pollutants of air in Dhaka are carbon monoxide,
hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxide particles, lead and unburned carbon particles.
About 50 tonnes of lead are emitted to air every year in the atmosphere of Dhaka. The
density of lead in the air of Dhaka is 463 monograms per cubic meter of air while it is 383 in
Mexico and 360 in Mumbi. (“Air pollution in Dhaka”, Air pollution in Dhaka City, accessed
May 15, 2010 from <http://www.scribd.com/doc/10304145/-Air-Pollution-in-Dhaka-City>) The
highest lead emitting city is Oroya, Peru which is 2500 monograms per cubic meter of air.
(“Air pollution in Dhaka”, Dhaka: Second dirtiest city in the world,accessed May 15, 2010
from < http://maqtanim.wordpress.com/2008/03/08/dhaka-second-dirtiest-city-in-world >) In a
report of the Directorate of Environment that the sound intensity even near hospitals, clinics
and educational institutions is between 67.19 decibels and 73.15 decibels, whereas the
acceptable limit is 45 decibel. Hydraulic horn is the most dangerous one for sound
pollution.(“Pollution in Dhaka”, Health hazards in Dhaka city, accessed May 16, 2010 from <
http://www.sos-arsenic.net/english/environment/healthhazards.html >) Recently the density
of airborne particulate matters (PM) has reached 247 micrograms per cubic meter of air

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 Image 2: Air Pollution in Dhaka

Which is nearly five times higher than the value of 50 PM per mcm set by National Ambient
Quality Standard (NAAQS) of Bangladesh. WHO guidelines of 2005 recommends that cities
with 70mcm are highly polluted.(“Pollution in Dhaka”, Bad news day for the environment,
accessed May 16, 2010 from <http://meanderingmemos.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/bad-
news-day-for-the-environment >) Dhaka accounts for 15000 deaths due to air pollution
annually.

Probably the most serious pollution occurring in Dhaka is water pollution. Department of
Environment has declared three rivers as ‘biologically dead’ due to no dissolved oxygen and
so totally devoid of aquatic life. These three rivers are Buriganga, Turag and Balu which are
surrounding Dhaka. (“Pollution in Dhaka”, 3 rivers now biologically dead:DoE, Daily Star,
February 8, 2010, accessed May 16,2010, from <
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=125361>) About 6000m
poisonous wastes is thrown to the river Buriganga everyday from 158 tanneries in Dhaka city
leading the chromium level 60 times higher than permissible limit. 6m polythene bags are
used in the city every day and only 20% is recovered. Rest are left in the environment
causing health hazards, water logging, environmental pollution etc. About 330 million cubic
meter waste has been polluting the lakes and rivers of Dhaka and about 49% of it containing
88% human wastes are discharged to the river Buriganga.

Image 3: Water Pollution in Dhaka

(“Water Pollution photos of Dhaka”, World’s best photos of water pollution, accessed May
16, 2010 from < http://fiveprime.org/hivemind/Tags/waterpollution >)

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Last 15 years there was no expansion of city sewer network and at present it covers only
20% of the population. 40% of the population use septic tanks, 20% use water sealed pit-
latrines and rest 20% use unhygienic means like open latrines. About 400 deep tube- wells
extracting ground water is supplying drinking water to 85% people of the city. As a result the
ground water level is going down three meters per year. (“Surface water pollution in Dhaka”,
Surface water pollution threatens public health, The New Nation, May 28, 2006, accessed on
May 16, 2010, from <http://nation.ittefaq.com/artman/publish/article_28182.shtml >)

Due to fast increase of the population, the waste generated by Dhaka is increasing very
rapidly. At present Dhaka city generates 3500-5000 tons solid waste (20% commercial and
industrial, 0.50%- 6.7% hospital waste, 22% street sweepings) and 65000- 70000 cubic
meters of sewer each day. Out of 3500 tons of solid waste 1800 tons are dumped by DCC,
900 tons by backyard and landfills, 400 go to roadside and open space, 300tons are
recycled by the rag pickers and 100 tonnes are recycled at the generation point. Solid waste
could reach 15000 tonnes per day by the year 2020. Of the eastimated daily total disposal of
about 2585m3, about 2305m3 are dumped at Matuail site, about 273m3 at Mirpur site and
7.5 m3 at Lalbag site. All of these sites are open air, close to water bodies and high
population density. 40 metric tons of medical waste is generated every day but there is
almost no waste management plan for this. The sewer network of about 632km is carrying
50000-55000 cubic meters sewer to DWASA sewer treatment plant at Pagla. Storm sewage
pipes runs only for 210km having diameters ranging between 450 to 3000mm. The city has
box culverts running for 7 kilometers with sizes between 2.5mx3.4m to 6mx4.1m
(JICA,1991;The New Nation) DWASA has only 48000 sewerage connections and at present
the city needs at least 3155km of sewer line. About 6000 big and medium as well as 24000
small industrial plants in the country release waste directly to the environment. There are
about 300 different types of industries in Dhaka City from only in Tejgaon area dispose about
12000 cubic meter untreated industrial waste per day to the surrounding environment.
.(“Pollution in Dhaka”, Health hazards in Dhaka city, accessed May 16, 2010 from <
http://www.sos-arsenic.net/english/environment/healthhazards.html >)

Image 4: Open waste and industrial pollution in Dhaka

(“Water Pollution photos of Dhaka”, World’s best photos of water pollution, accessed May
16, 2010 from < http://fiveprime.org/hivemind/Tags/waterpollution >)

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5. Planning for Sustainable Dhaka
Bangladesh is one of the lowest GHG emission countries of the world which is 0.25 CO2e
t/person/year (“GHG emission by countries”, Carbon Planet, accessed on May 15,2010 at
<http://www.carbonplanet.com/country_emissions >). Dhaka has area of 153.84 km which is
not a big area. As the population is dense, Dhaka has to go for high rise apartments for
living. Mike Pearce has demonstrated some excellent works of him on sustainable buildings
which is very much suitable to apply for designing Dhaka. Like the CH2 building, all the high
rise buildings in future can be made on 6 star rated green. On the other hand the basic
transportation system of the city should be switched to tram, train, bus and mono rail rather
than mixture of private car, public buses and man pulling rickshaws. Mixture of auto and
manual transports are causing significant traffic on Dhaka city. Due to shortage of land, new
roads are not possible to make but flyovers and underground tunnels can be introduced to
reduce the load

Figure 4: CO2 emission projection for Bangladesh

(Abul K. Azad, S.W. Nashreen, and J. Sultana, “State of Energy Consumption and CO2
Emission in Bangladesh”, AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, Volume 35, issue
2, March 2006, article pp 86-88, accessed on May 16, 2010 from
<http://ambio.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1579%2F0044-
7447%282006%2935[86%3ASOECAC]2.0.CO%3B2&ct=1>)

on the existing roads. All the roads on the Dhaka city will be one way and on the peak hours
private transports will be restricted to the main roads. The whole city will be divided into
different nodes for train. Different nodes will be connected to each other and the whole city
will be surrounded by train line. Commercial part of the city will have monorail as it needs
very little space to operate and it is fast. The main portion of the city will have a single tram
loop where frequent trams of slow speed will be operated continuously. As the public
transportation system will be operated by electricity, the consumption of fossil fuel will be

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decrease significantly. Most of the vehicles of Dhaka is already using CNG as fuel. If people
do not need to spend lot of time in traffic, it’ll increase efficiency, profit and will save time,
money. At the same time people of the city will get enough time for social and cultural
activities in their free time.

5.1 Electricity
There are not enough resources available to generate power and lead Dhaka towards
sustainable energy as there is no option to switch for hydro power as the country is in
downstream and nuclear power as there is no safe place to set up nuclear reactor for high
population density. But Bangladesh has enough opportunity for renewable energy usage like
Solar, Wind and Geothermal. In the Renewable Energy Policy Bangladesh, there are no
estimates of how much renewable energy can be generated in present scenario. Dhaka city
can use environment friendly architectural designs for the buildings like CH2 building in
Melbourne and can use solar PV cells to generate power locally for every building. From the
lecture of Richard Potter, we got very clear idea about the options of introducing PV cells in
the generation of electricity for homes. The excess power can be stored in DC batteries to
be used at night. It can be a proper, feasible and sustainable solution for current energy
crisis of the city. Due to dense population, the idea of Wind turbine, introduced by Kam Ho is
not applicable for Dhaka, but in the coastal region of Bangladesh there are great possibilities
of wind power. The other feasible option that Bangladesh is looking now is to import
electricity from Nepal and India which is also a very reasonable option to face the future
peak load demand of the country as well as Dhaka city. James and Rob introduced us with
the cogeneration using central services hubs. As Dhaka is in tropical zone, heater is not
needed normally at winter. Still local cogeneration units with CHP give an option for cooling
at summer which is very useful.

Figure 5: Solar radiation over Bangladesh

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 (“Solar radiation photos”, World solar radiation, accessed May 16, 2010, from
<http://www.geni.org/globalenergy/library/renewable-energy-
resources/world/sources_world/worldsolar_files/solar-
radiation_data/world_solar_radiation.gif >)

Recently Dhaka is installing solar PV modules to the buildings and roofs. Nearly 300MW of
electricity can be generated from 20,000 multi storied buildings of Dhaka. (“Solar buildings in
Dhaka”, Solar power for high raised buildings to overcome energy crisis, accessed on May
16, 1020 from <http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2653618>)
Bangladesh is situated in the solar radiation receiving zone on Earth, so solar PV and solar
thermal energy generation is the best option for Bangladesh to face the energy demand.
Lots of research is going on all over the world and hopefully in few years the cost of solar
systems and Building integrated solar photovoltaic cells will come down. At present scenario,
Dhaka can switch to solar PV with battery for street lighting systems, telecommunication
systems and IPS batteries. Professor Bob Fuller gave us some ideas about Solar Stills in
lecture on Solar Energy. Solar stills can be an option for small scale waste water treatment.
Bangladesh Bank head office situated in Motijheel, Dhaka has recently taken decision to
install solar PV modules in their roofs. For future energy demand, a regulation should be
made that every 8+ storied buildings have to generate at least 40% of their total energy
consumption by solar and other renewable resources.

Image 5: 46 kW BiPV, Alan Gilbart Building, Unimelb

(“Solar Buildings in unimelb”, accessed on May 16, 2010 from

<http://www.apps.org.au/Meetings/200811/union.jpg >)

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5.2 Transport
There is no data available about how much fossil fuel is consumed by the Dhaka city per
year to understand what will be the fossil fuel demand over 2030. The total CO2 release
from all primary fossil fuels used in Bangladesh amounted to 5072 Gg in 1977, and
increased to 14 423.49 Gg in 1995; a growth rate of about 6% per year. The primary source
of CO2 is petroleum products, which contributed 50% of all CO2 emission. Natural gas
contributed 44% of total CO2 emission during 1977–1995. (Abul K. Azad, S.W. Nashreen,
and J. Sultana, “State of Energy Consumption and CO2 Emission in Bangladesh”, AMBIO: A
Journal of the Human Environment, Volume 35, issue 2, March 2006, article pp 86-88,
accessed on May 16, 2010 from <http://ambio.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=get-
document&doi=10.1579%2F0044-
7447%282006%2935[86%3ASOECAC]2.0.CO%3B2&ct=1>) So the future plan should be to
force people to use public transports and restrict the private transports as much as possible.
The very dense commercial Motijheel is to be surrounded by monorail connecting all the
junction points of rail, bus and tram so that people can come to Motijheel very easily. As new
road construction is not possible in this place, monorail is the only option for reducing
transport traffic of Motijheel. Slow one way tram line cab be installed through the main roads
of the city like Dhanmondi, Shahbag, Ramna, Mirpur road connecting all the main and
crowded roads. The aim is that people will use trains to get to the main city circle and then
can use tram, bus or monorail to reach to the city. The rail networks will surround the city
and also will connect the node points so that people can go to different parts of the city by
changing trains at the node points. The city is to be divided into 6 nodes and each node is
connected to others. It’ll help people to cross the city by changing 2/3 trains, at best. But the
crowded parts of the city will have more nodes so that people can move around in less time.

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 Figure 6: Proposed transport network for Dhaka (Scanned Image)

5.3 Water
At present 85% supply of water comes from the ground water. But the ground water is
contaminated by Arsenic which is a great threat to public health. At present DWASA supplies
1900 million lifters of water every day to Dhaka which raises up to 2200 litres during
summer.(“Water demand in Dhaka”, Bangladesh: Army to help Dhaka water authority,
accessed May 16, 2010 from < http://washasia.wordpress.com/2010/04/07/bangladesh-
army-to-help-dhaka-water-authority>) Due to monsoon Bangladesh has lot of rainfall. If this
rain water can be captured and kept safely, it can be our biggest source of water supply.
Every roof of the city can introduce rain water tank. As the designs of the buildings are
proposed to be sustainable, it is very easy to introduce rain water tank on these buildings.
Water sensitive urban design for the roads and buildings will give options for increasing
retention time and runoff of the surface water. Paul Murfitt gave us some knowledge about

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how the precinct designs helps towards zero emission goal and Andrew told us about total
urban water management techniques. Like Melbourne, use of 155L water can be fixed for
conservative use for Dhaka. Apart from rain water use, treatment and use of Buriganga and
Shitalakhma rivers and sewage treatment plant is to be introduced.At present there are only
four water treatment plants working for the whole country. As Dhaka is surrounded by lots of
different kinds of industries, treatment of river water will be very tricky. Groundwater can be
referred as emergency storage and there will be facilities and options to get groundwater into
the supply system in lowest possible time. Two circuit type pipeline networks will be
introduced to minimize the use of safe water. For toilet flashing, gardening and car wash,
recycled water from waste water treatment plant will be supplied. For drinking and other
household purposes water will come from water treatment plant of the rivers. Combination of
local rain water tanks and treated river water will be enough to serve the people of Dhaka for
the safe drinking water. Proposed water treatment plant can be described as follows:

Raw Water From the

catchment Reservoir

Aluminium Sulphate + Lime

Flocculation

Air compressor Clarifier

Sludge to
Air- water Desludge through pump
waste
Saturator Filtration treatment
plant
Filter Lime + CO2
Backwashing

Clear Water tank

Figure 7: Filtration Water treatment plant

Water can be supplied to Dhaka through two separate supply lines. Portable water will be
supplied from the Water Filtration plant to the consumers’ kitchens and bathrooms using
existing pipe network, recycled water will be supplied to the toilets and backyard taps using

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separate pipe network. The flow diagram of Water Supply to Willaura can be shown as
follows:

Community of Dhaka

Portable Water Recycled Water

Industrial purpose

Sludge of WTP
Water Treatment Plant Waste Water Treatment Plant

Figure 8: Water Supply Solution for Dhaka

5.4 Waste Management

There is no independent law in Bangladesh to address the problem of solid waste. The
Municipal Ordinance 1983 (Amended 1999) and the Bangladesh Environment Conservation
Act 1995 are the only two legal obligations to be followed for solid wastes. At present all the
waste of Dhaka city is been used to landfill which is causing lot of difficulties. Collecting
rubbish and recycle waste from the grass-root level, like Melbourne is to be introduced on
Dhaka. The main water pollution for Dhaka is caused by the industries. As there are specific
areas, where most of the industries situated, all the discharges of the industries can be
collected through pipeline circuit and can be treated specially. It will decrease the pollution
significantly and also will reduce the risk of contamination of surrounded river waters. For the
rubbish disposal, generation of biogas using waste is a good option. Rob demonstrated
ideas how to use biogas as a primary fuel as it has 5 times lower CO2 emission than the
brown coal. With cogeneration option, water can be heated to supply warm water for the
buildings. Professor Graham Moor has given me some ideas about the duel flashing toilets
on the personal meeting with him on April 23, 2010. It is much easier to manage the wastes
if the wastes are collected separately at the generation point. It is possible with the help of
duel flashing toilets which will collect the urines in a pipe network and other sewage in
separate network. As urine is one of the main sources of nitrogen, if the country can
establish a pipe network throughout the country and supply the urine to the paddy fields, it
will decrease the use of artificial fertilizer as well as environmental problems. As most of the
population of Dhaka is still not covered by the sewage network, it is much easier to introduce
this waste management system to the city.

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 Image 6: Environment friendly toilet (M. Graham, April 23,2010)

Solid wastes should be converted to composts, when possible and supplied to the farmers.
Liquid wastes as well as sewages should be treated to Waste Water Treatment Plant and
treated water of Class A can be supplied to the consumers to use for gardening and toilet
flashing. The proposed WWTP can be described as follows:

Wetland Recycle Water

Tank

Lagoon
UV Disinfection

overflow
Tertiary Filters
Biofilter

Grit IDEA reactor BT

Vortex

Step Screen

Inlet pump Belt Filter

Station Press

Outload Tank Sludge from Water treatment plant

Figure 9: Waste Water Treatment

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6. Kyoto Target and some thinking
As a developing country of Annexure B, Bangladesh is committed to reduce emission of
main six greenhouse gases by 6% within the period of 2008-2012. Still now like most of the
developing countries, Bangladesh is also very busy fighting for basic needs for living. There
are even not enough initiatives to measure the current scenario and no past data available to
compare the scenario. But it is well understood from Dr. Peter Christoff’s lecture that
countries that are emitting most of the greenhouse gases are having less impact on climate
change. From Dr. Christoff’s lecture we got some ideas about the drawbacks of the scenario
that has been taken into account to draw conclusion of climate change like there is no gross
manipulation of data which is leading to misinterpretation and confusion, non reliable
references like glaciers might take 350 years to melt instead of 35years and the degree of
risk that the mankind is ready to consume. In the long history there is a relation between the
amount of CO2 and earth temperature that impact indirectly. The extraordinary gap between
the work of politicians and scientists is increasing the danger. The Copenhagen Summit
gave a guideline to work with carbon capture techniques and clean development
mechanisms. As industries are the main producer of GHS, Carbon trading or Carbon tax are
two possible options. Carol Battie provided us some ideas about how the Carbon market
works; Dr. Sean gave us idea about ecological limits. Dr. Brian Davidson’s view was to turn
the uncertainty of global warming into probability by mitigating risks like deadweight social
loss, volatility and market uncertainty. But he also concluded his argument that the emission
trading only fixes the economical side of the problem but not the real emission situation. If
the developed countries kept their emission unchanged by buying excess Carbon from the
developing countries, the actual GHG emission scenario will remain the same but it will give
the right to the developed countries to keep ongoing with the emission when at present there
is also a ethical issue here. On the other hand, developing countries will make more money
easily by selling their unused couta of Carbon which might lead them to come into a
conclusion that they should not go for industrialisation as emission trading is much more
profitable than setting up industries. In the long run of the economic development for the
developing countries, emission trading might have significant impact. I had some
misunderstandings about this thinking and Professor Graham Moore helped me to
understand more about Carbon trading. If carbon emission is restricted to a fixed amount per
person, the developing countries are going to get more allowances than their generation. If
one person can sell the excess carbon just only once, peoples of developing country like
Bangladesh will be able to sell the excess carbon and that money will help them to
overcome their poverty and get a better life standard. On the other hand, as developed
countries will find Carbon very costly, they will start to find out new technologies which will
help to control carbon emission. When the developed countries will find the solution, it will
also help developing countries too, as the money they are going to get from the carbon
trading is going to upgrade their life standards and it also increases the risk of more carbon
generation. Bangladesh also joined in the emission trading as a Dutch Joint Venture
company has taken a CDM project. (Bangla, Energy, Bangladesh: First CDM Project goes
into Operation, media release Nov 25, 2008 in Asia, from <
http://www.carbonoffsetsdaily.com/news-channels/asia/bangladesh-first-cdm-project-goes-
into-operation-2707.htm >)

Dr. Brian Davidson gave an argument about using 1% externality on Garnaut report and as
the renewable energy has elastic demand shape, the price is very high. If we can make the

19
demand curve shifted by externalities, using Coasion approach by introducing property right
as the market is not completely competitive. Government has to determine the maximum
desirable levels of pollution as the affected parties have the right not to be polluted against.
But the problem is the pollutants can be homogenous and lot of works still have to be done
on fixing the permit levels.

According to National Post of May 17, 2008, 32000 scientists were against Kyoto Protocol
due to unsupported assumptions. Some scientists argued that instead of regulating carbon
emission, government policies might lead to carbon price regulation. Argument against
Kyoto leads us to three questions- it demands too much? It achieves too little? Is it
necessary?

Figure 10: Global Energy Chart

(“Global exergy resource chart”, Global climate and energy project, accessed on May 16,
2010, from <http://gcep.stanford.edu/research/exergy/resourcechart.html>)

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7. Life Cycle Diagram of Dhaka

Energy (Fossil fuel, Renewable energies) Services

Product
Raw materials

Recycle/Reuse Social, Waste

Economical, Production
Environmental
activities Emission

Disposal Use
Transport Pollutions

Figure 11: Life cycle Diagram of Dhaka

8. Conclusion
Changing an existing city like Dhaka with dense population and very limited resources is a
great challenge. Feasibilities are the first question. Option, available technology and budget
also have significant impact on the project. Planning should be specific and within the limit to
achieve. The problems associated with the planning to get Dhaka towards zero emission
involve some major issues. The main problem is the cost- as a developing country
Bangladesh does not have the economic support to go through all the planning and
establishing the infrastructures. Corruption and unstable political condition of the country do
not support to go for long term planning. Illiteracy is another problem which delays any new
plan to work as it takes long time to aware people about it.

No matter how hard it is to put up the plants for Dhaka towards zero emission, Bangladesh
cannot put back to the reality and set the pollution problems aside. It is not a question if
Kyoto asking too much or how much it could achieve- the temperature of the world is
increasing, even if the Kyoto estimation is wrong. So we have to step forward to decrease
GHG emission for the sake of this green planet.

21
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