CNG AgriCarbon Rewards Programme
#33of 66 in Soil carbon#7of 12 in South Africa#457of 629 in Verra (VCS)#3of 7 in VM0042
Audit Analysis
The CNG AgriCarbon Rewards Programme is a VCS-registered soil carbon project in South Africa with VVB-confirmed additionality and a 12.5% buffer pool, but it carries significant quality concerns including 22 non-conformity reports, a pending RothC model re-validation, a project-specific baseline with unassessed data gaps, and a major discrepancy between the 20-year crediting period in the PDD and the 50-year period in the verification report. The low extraction confidence and four cross-document contradictions further erode confidence in the data record.
Red Flags
- Crediting period discrepancy: the PDD (2021) states a 20-year period (2017–2037) while the verification report (2025) states a 50-year period (2018–2068); a 50-year crediting period for soil carbon is highly unusual and raises serious permanence and over-crediting concerns
- 22 Non-Conformity Reports and 3 forward action requests (including re-validation of the RothC model for organic-fertiliser practice change) indicate unresolved methodological and data-quality issues
- Leakage treatment is contradictory: the verification report states leakage was deemed negligible, while the monitoring report indicates it was quantified; the basis for the final treatment is unclear
- Min extraction confidence is rated low, meaning at least one key document was poorly readable, reducing reliability of the extracted record
Credit Vintages
| Issued | Retired | Available | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 6,061 | 6,061 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 8,649 | 8,649 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 13,542 | 13,542 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 10,954 | 5,928 | 5,026 | |
| Total | 39,206 | 34,180 | 5,026 |
Risk Indicators
VVB-confirmed barrier test
12.5% buffer, no reversals, but 50-yr period atypical for so
Deemed negligible but contradicted by monitoring report
Project-specific, no reassessment date, data gaps flagged
FPIC, grievance mechanism, and safeguards documented
CORSIA and CCP status not stated in available documents
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