GS10789 VPA6: Efficient and Clean Cooking for households in Cote d’Ivoire

Audit Analysis

This Gold Standard cookstove project in Côte d'Ivoire has confirmed additionality and a quantified 5% leakage deduction, but is undermined by an unusually high volume of material findings (over 30) and corrective actions (over 25), nine cross-document contradictions, and the absence of a buffer pool for a project type where stoves can be lost or damaged. The verified emissions reduction of 104,281 tCO₂e for the 16-month monitoring period represents roughly 103% of the pro-rata expectation derived from the 358,068 tCO₂e lifetime ex-ante estimate, indicating no material over-crediting. Political unrest that halted monitoring surveys and the lack of independent usage-rate verification further weaken confidence in the MRV chain.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Over 30 material findings and 25+ corrective actions identified across verification and validation reports, including inconsistencies in baseline emissions values, NCV/emission factor errors, and ER sheet calculation discrepancies
• ⚠Nine contradictions between documents, including fNRB values differing by 20% (0.7003 vs 0.8414), leakage deduction changing from 0% to 5% between reporting periods, and two different crediting periods cited
• ⚠Monitoring surveys were halted due to prevailing political unrest in Côte d'Ivoire, creating a gap in the MRV chain
• ⚠Usage rate of 0.9 is identical in both assumed and verified figures, with no evidence of independent field verification of actual stove usage

Credit Vintages