GS11935 GS11934 RVPA-53 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 significant gaps in permanence protection (no buffer pool, reversal risk unaddressed), an aggressive 100% usage-rate assumption, and contradictory FPIC documentation. The project is very new (crediting period began November 2023) with no monitoring data yet, and the low extraction confidence in the source documents limits assurance.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠100% usage rate assumed in the validation report with no verified usage data to support it; the appendix contains a contradictory value of 1, creating ambiguity about the true assumption
• ⚠No buffer pool percentage stated and reversal events explicitly 'not addressed' — permanence risk for cookstove credits is unmitigated
• ⚠FPIC status is contradictory: the 2024 validation report states it was not conducted, while an earlier 2023 validation report states it was conducted
• ⚠Total ERR claimed and verified are identical (48,709 tCO2e), suggesting the 'verification' confirmed the ex-ante calculation rather than independent monitoring
• ⚠Low extraction confidence across the document set, with one document of unknown type in the evidence list

Credit Vintages