GS11993 VPA1: African Clean Energy for Cooking in Uganda

Audit Analysis

A Gold Standard cooking-stove project in Uganda with VVB-confirmed additionality and matching claimed/verified ERR figures, but undermined by 25+ corrective actions and clarifications, multiple cross-document contradictions (monitoring method, crediting period, leakage justification), and the absence of a buffer pool or stated CORSIA/CCP status. The project addresses a genuine energy-access need, yet the data-quality gaps and inconsistencies create meaningful uncertainty around the robustness of the credit claims.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Monitoring method contradiction: the verification report (May 2024) states smart-meter monitoring while the monitoring report (Nov 2024) states self-reporting — a fundamental MRV discrepancy for a methodology titled 'metered & measured energy cooking devices'
• ⚠Crediting period contradiction: the monitoring report specifies 2022-06-29 to 2023-11-09 (~1.4 years) while an appendix states 2022–2027 (~5 years); the monitoring period (Dec 2024–Dec 2025) falls outside the shorter period, creating ambiguity about the valid crediting window
• ⚠25+ corrective actions and clarifications (13 CARs, 12 CLs) in the verification report, including unresolved questions on ownership of emission reductions, double-counting prevention, non-functional stove handling, and grievance-mechanism evidence
• ⚠No buffer pool percentage stated in any available document, leaving permanence risk unmitigated despite the absence of reported reversal events
• ⚠Leakage justification is contradictory: the verification report characterises it as 'quantified' while the monitoring report says 'deemed negligible', both supporting a 0% deduction

Credit Vintages