GS11935 GS11934 RVPA-03 Promoting sustainable use of biomass energy resources in targeted communities

Audit Analysis

A Gold Standard cookstove project in Nepal with VVB-confirmed additionality and a quantified 5% leakage deduction, but undermined by a 100% usage-rate assumption, a five-fold discrepancy in claimed emissions reductions between the PDD and validation report, a contradictory FPIC record, and the absence of any buffer pool or verified usage data. The identical claimed and verified ERR figures raise concerns about whether verification independently confirmed the project's claims.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Usage rate assumed at 100% with no verified usage data to support this figure — an extremely aggressive assumption for household cookstove adoption in rural Nepal
• ⚠Five-fold discrepancy in total ERR: the PDD (2024-09-13) states 9,466 tCO2e while the validation report (2024-09-27) states 47,333 tCO2e
• ⚠FPIC status contradicts itself within the validation report: the 2023-11-30 version records FPIC as conducted, while the 2024-09-27 version records it as not conducted
• ⚠Claimed and verified ERR figures are identical (47,333 tCO2e), suggesting the verification may not have independently re-derived the credit quantity
• ⚠No buffer pool percentage stated in any available document, leaving no quantified safeguard against reversal of credits

Credit Vintages