GS2489 Efficient cookstoves in Benin and Togo – VPA4 – EcoBenin – Women, Soils and Energy

Audit Analysis

This Gold Standard cookstove project in Benin and Togo has a confirmed additionality assessment and a quantified 5% leakage deduction, but is significantly undermined by 24 material findings and 23 corrective actions spanning data quality, emission factor errors, and cross-document inconsistencies. The project-specific baseline and absence of a stated buffer pool leave permanence and over-crediting risks inadequately addressed. While the verified emissions reductions (12,828 tCO2e) exceed the pro-rata expectation (~9,640 tCO2e) for the elapsed period, the volume of unresolved data issues casts doubt on the robustness of the underlying calculations.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠24 material findings and 23 corrective actions identified in the January 2025 verification report, including a non-CO2 emission factor of 0.58 tCO2/ton versus the latest SMEC v3.0 default of 0.148, duplicate household photos in survey data, and VPA-03 data incorrectly included in VPA-4 calculations
• ⚠No buffer pool percentage or permanence claim stated in any available document, leaving reversal risk unaddressed for a 10-year crediting period
• ⚠Monitoring survey conducted two months after the monitoring period ended (period closed 2023-09-30, survey later), with incomplete random number generation screenshots and duplicate household entries
• ⚠Leakage deduction changed from 0% in the August 2023 verification report to 5% in the January 2025 verification report, indicating the earlier period's credits may have been over-claimed
• ⚠Safeguards documentation inconsistent: the August 2023 monitoring report does not mention safeguards, while the January 2025 verification report confirms they are present; FPIC was not conducted

Credit Vintages