GS1340 Efficient cookstoves in Burkina Faso – VPA-27 – Solidagro F3PA cookstoves in Passoré

Audit Analysis

A Gold Standard cookstove project in Burkina Faso with a verified combined additionality test and a measured project-specific baseline, but undermined by 14 material findings (including corrections to ex-ante values, a discount-factor inconsistency, and missing baseline survey documents) and the absence of a buffer pool or lifetime ex-ante ERR estimate. The verified ERR matches the claimed figure exactly for the 2022 monitoring period, and leakage is quantified at 5%, but the volume of corrective actions and methodology-version gaps (v1.0 vs. v1.1) raise data-reliability concerns.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠14 material findings in the verification report, including correction of fixed ex-ante values, a discount-factor inconsistency between the monitoring report and the VPA design document, and missing baseline survey documents
• ⚠No lifetime ex-ante ERR estimate found; the claimed figure of 29,958 tCO₂e may be a single-period value, preventing a proper pro-rata over-crediting check
• ⚠The PoA had not undergone transition to GS4GG and the PoA design document did not reflect changes in methodology v1.1, indicating governance and methodology-alignment gaps
• ⚠Five contradictions across documents (FPIC, safeguards, grievance mechanism, usage monitoring method, crediting period) reduce confidence in the consistency of the project record

Credit Vintages