GS1340 Efficient cookstoves in Burkina Faso - VPA-29 - Improved Cookstove F3PA project in Nahouri

Audit Analysis

This Gold Standard cookstove project in Burkina Faso has a verified additionality test and a quantified 5% leakage deduction, but is undermined by an extensive list of over 30 material findings in the verification report, a major discrepancy in verified emission reductions between two verification reports (49,827 vs 169,085), and the absence of any stated buffer pool or permanence mechanism. The project-specific baseline, contradictory FPIC and safeguards reporting, and a significant drop in verified usage rate (from 99.1% to 89.9%) further erode confidence in the integrity and safety of the credit claims.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Verified ERR of 169,085 in the 2023 verification report versus 49,827 in the 2024 verification report — a 3.4-fold discrepancy that raises serious over-crediting concerns if the higher figure was issued
• ⚠Over 30 material findings in the 2024 verification report, including formula errors in the ER calculation sheet, a 34,989-stove vs 14,825-household discrepancy, and a usage survey conducted in May 2023 for a monitoring period ending December 2022
• ⚠No buffer pool or permanence mechanism is stated in any available document, leaving reversal risk unaddressed for a cookstove project with an 11-year crediting period
• ⚠FPIC reported as not conducted in the 2023 verification report but as conducted in the 2022 PDD — a direct contradiction on a fundamental safeguard
• ⚠Usage rate verified at 99.1% in the 2023 monitoring report but only 89.9% in the 2024 monitoring report, a 9-percentage-point drop that was not explained in the extracted record

Credit Vintages