GS1247 VPA 188 Southern Ethiopia Efficient Cook Stoves

Audit Analysis

A Gold Standard cook-stove project in Southern Ethiopia with a VVB-confirmed combined additionality test, a quantified 5% leakage deduction, and a conservative 90% usage-rate cap. However, the project carries a high volume of material findings and corrective actions across multiple verification cycles, and a persistent fNRB discrepancy (0.83 vs 0.93) between the 2024 and 2026 verification reports undermines confidence in the accuracy of the key emission-factor parameter. Overall, the project is structurally sound but its documentation quality and parameter consistency warrant caution.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠fNRB value contradicts between the 2024 verification report (0.93, local field method) and the 2026 verification report (0.83, national default), a 12% swing in a key parameter that directly affects ER calculations
• ⚠Extremely high volume of material findings (30+) and corrective actions (50+) across the document set, including substantive errors in baseline fuel consumption (Pb,y), methodology version references, and stove count inconsistencies
• ⚠326 non-functional stoves identified during monitoring, with ERs adjusted for downtime — a material reversal risk for an energy-efficiency project with no buffer pool
• ⚠No ex-ante lifetime ERR figure found in the extracted record, preventing a proper pro-rata over/under-delivery check against the 12,563 tCO₂e verified for the current monitoring period

Credit Vintages