CLEAN COOKSTOVE FOR GARO COMMUNITIES

Audit Analysis

A VCS cookstove project in India with confirmed additionality (investment test verified by LGAI), FPIC, and a grievance mechanism in place. The VVB verified emissions reductions at the lower of two reported figures, which is conservative, but the project-specific baseline, absence of a stated buffer pool, and a leakage justification gap in the verification report moderate confidence. Four cross-document contradictions on additionality type, ERR figures, FNRB method, and leakage treatment reduce overall reliability.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠No buffer pool percentage is stated in any available document, leaving permanence risk for cookstove replacement or abandonment unaddressed
• ⚠The verification report (2024-04-30) records the leakage justification as 'not addressed' even though a 5% deduction was applied, while the monitoring report (2023-05-09) describes it as 'quantified' — the basis for the 5% figure is unclear
• ⚠The monitoring report (2023-04-30) reports 13,129 tCO2e for the first monitoring period while the PDD (2024-02-29) and verification report (2024-04-30) both state 11,376 tCO2e; the VVB privileged the lower figure, but the ~15% discrepancy is unexplained in the available record
• ⚠FNRB method is contradictory: the validation report (2024-03-26) cites a local field measurement while the monitoring report (2023-05-09) cites a national default, yet the same FNRB value (0.642) appears in both

Credit Vintages