AWMS Methane Recovery Project BR06-S-27, Goias, Brazil

Audit Analysis

A CDM methane-recovery project in Goias, Brazil, using the well-established AMS-III.D. methodology with VVB-confirmed additionality, but weakened by a project-specific modeled baseline, unaddressed leakage, absence of any buffer pool or permanence mechanism, and a notable discrepancy between two monitoring reports on total emissions reductions. The project is functional but carries moderate over-crediting and permanence risks typical of early-generation CDM waste-sector projects.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Total ERR figures conflict between the 2009 monitoring report (12,939 tCO₂e) and the 2011 monitoring report (10,913 tCO₂e), a ~16% reduction in the later, longer-period report, suggesting a retroactive correction to population data that was flagged as non-conservative in the material findings.
• ⚠Leakage is explicitly not addressed and no deduction percentage is stated in any available document, despite the project type (waste management) where displaced emissions or alternative waste handling are plausible.
• ⚠No buffer pool, reversal tracking, or permanence mechanism is documented, leaving the project exposed to reversal risk if the waste-management system is altered or decommissioned before the end of the crediting period.
• ⚠Crediting period dates differ between the validation report (2007-08-01 to 2017-08-01) and the 2011 monitoring report (2008-02-01 to 2018-01-31), creating ambiguity about the exact period over which credits are valid.

Credit Vintages