Congo (DRC) Improved Cook Stoves VPA 001– Limete

Audit Analysis

A Gold Standard improved cook stove project in DRC with a VVB-confirmed additionality test and a quantified 5% leakage deduction, but undermined by a project-specific baseline, absence of a buffer pool, no verified ERR figure, and ten corrective action requests raised during verification. Multiple contradictions across monitoring and verification reports (FNRB value, leakage rate, ERR totals) reduce confidence in the data trail.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠No verified ERR figure is available in any document; the lifetime claimed total (137,225 tCO2e) cannot be cross-checked against actual delivery for any monitoring period.
• ⚠Ten corrective action requests (CARs) were raised in the September 2025 verification report, including incorrect distribution method description, missing PoA boundary coordinates, and incomplete supporting evidence for eligibility criteria.
• ⚠The FNRB value differs by a factor of 100 between the verification report (83.1) and the July 2024 monitoring report (0.831), raising a unit or transcription concern that is not resolved in the available record.
• ⚠No buffer pool percentage is stated in any document, leaving permanence risk for a 20-year crediting period unquantified.

Credit Vintages