Biogas Support Program - Nepal Activity-3

Audit Analysis

A CDM biogas methane-avoidance project in Nepal with a barrier additionality test, a 5% quantified leakage deduction, and a project-specific baseline reassessed in 2019. The project carries moderate data-reliability concerns due to a significant discrepancy in claimed ERR between two monitoring reports (64,201 vs 94,348 tCO₂e) and a 14-percentage-point gap between the assumed (100%) and verified (85.71%) usage rate. Six material findings and five corrective actions were raised during verification, all relating to initial documentation gaps that were subsequently addressed.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Claimed ERR of 64,201 tCO₂e in the 2022 monitoring report contradicts 94,348 tCO₂e in an earlier monitoring report (Feb 2021), a 47% discrepancy that undermines confidence in the project's quantification
• ⚠Usage rate assumed at 100% in the monitoring report versus 85.71% verified, a 14.3-percentage-point overstatement that inflates the baseline reduction estimate
• ⚠Buffer pool percentage and reversal-event history are not stated in any available document, leaving CDM permanence risk unquantified
• ⚠Six material findings and five corrective actions were raised during verification, indicating the initial PDD and monitoring framework required substantial correction before approval

Credit Vintages