CPA 057 - Charcoal Stoves in Kenya

Audit Analysis

The BioLite improved cookstove project in Kenya has VVB-confirmed additionality and a measured project-specific baseline reassessed in 2024, but is undermined by a significant discrepancy between the PDD's lifetime emission reduction estimate (1.50 MtCO₂e) and the issuance figure (2.65 MtCO₂e), the absence of any buffer pool or permanence risk assessment, and multiple material findings with corrective actions still open. The project is CORSIA-eligible with no stated CCP status, creating dual-channel risk, and several key data points (FNRB method, leakage justification, benefit sharing) are contradicted across documents.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Issuance document reports 2,649,011 tCO₂e while the PDD (same date, 2024-11-18) estimates only 1,498,873 tCO₂e lifetime — a 77% excess that cannot be explained by pro-rata monitoring and signals potential over-crediting
• ⚠No buffer pool percentage is stated in any document and reversal events are explicitly 'not addressed', leaving no permanence safeguard for a 20-year crediting period
• ⚠The monitoring report (2024-08-28) internally contradicts itself on the FNRB method, listing both 'local field' and 'national default' in the same document
• ⚠The verification report (2024-08-30) states the leakage justification is 'not addressed' while the monitoring report (2024-08-28) calls it 'quantified' — the higher-authority verification document prevails, leaving the 5% deduction without a documented rationale
• ⚠Ten contradictions across documents, including baseline method (project vs jurisdictional), benefit sharing (described vs not described), and safeguards (mentioned vs not mentioned), indicate inconsistent record-keeping

Credit Vintages