GS5658 VPA 7: Water is Life, Madagascar

Audit Analysis

This Gold Standard energy-efficiency project in Madagascar (displacing decentralized thermal energy) has VVB-confirmed additionality and a named verification body, but is undermined by 14 material findings (9 CARs, 5 CLs), the absence of a buffer pool, unaddressed reversal risk, and six cross-document contradictions including a usage-rate jump from 0.75 to 0.95 and a claimed ERR that exceeds the ex-ante lifetime estimate. The lack of a verified ERR figure and the project-specific baseline further limit confidence in the credit claims.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠14 material findings (9 CARs + 5 CLs) reported in the verification report, indicating significant compliance or MRV issues during the monitoring period
• ⚠No buffer pool percentage stated and reversal events explicitly 'not addressed' — permanence risk is unmitigated
• ⚠Total ERR claimed (50,617 tCO2e) exceeds the ex-ante lifetime estimate (48,232 tCO2e) by ~5%, and a second monitoring report cites a figure of 652,680 tCO2e, a 13.5× discrepancy
• ⚠Usage rate assumption increased from 0.75 in the PDD (2019) to 0.95 in the 2023 monitoring report without clear justification for the 20-percentage-point jump
• ⚠Crediting period differs between the PDD (2016–2036, 20 years) and the 2023 monitoring report (2018–2025, ~7 years), creating ambiguity about the actual crediting window

Credit Vintages