BRASCARBON Methane Recovery Project BCA-BRA-01

Audit Analysis

A CDM methane-avoidance project (biogas flaring, AMS-III.D) with VVB-confirmed additionality but a project-specific modeled baseline, no stated buffer pool, and a very low verified-to-claimed ERR ratio that raises over-crediting concerns. Eighteen material findings and seven corrective actions at validation indicate a weak initial submission, and the project is now past its crediting period with several key MRV parameters undocumented.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Verified ERR of 34.105 for the 2011–2012 monitoring period is only ~0.06% of the pro-rata expectation (~58,149 tCO2e) derived from the PDD lifetime claim of 348,894 tCO2e over 7 years, suggesting either a unit mismatch or severe under-delivery
• ⚠Eighteen material findings and seven corrective actions were raised at validation, including incorrect site identification, missing additionality demonstration, and non-transparent emission-reduction calculations
• ⚠Leakage justification is contradictory across monitoring reports: 'deemed negligible' in the 2013 report versus 'not addressed' in the 2010 report
• ⚠Crediting period dates differ between the validation report (2008-10-01 to 2015-10-01) and the 2013 monitoring report (2009-03-16 to 2016-03-15), with no documented explanation for the shift

Credit Vintages