GS7591 VPA 22 Central Mozambique Safe Water Programme

Audit Analysis

The Central Mozambique Safe Water Programme is a Gold Standard avoidance project displacing thermal energy for water heating, with confirmed additionality and a recent baseline reassessment. However, a significant over-issuance of 30,370 tCO2e in the first monitoring period, ongoing non-compliance with methodology monitoring requirements, and numerous data-quality corrections across borehole counts, SDG calculations, and ER/MR consistency substantially undermine confidence in the project's integrity and claim safety.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Over-issuance of 30,370 tCO2e in MP1 due to incorrect calculation of borehole operating days; deducted in the current period but indicates weak internal QA
• ⚠Project in non-compliance with methodology requirement SDWS 23 (monitored quantity of safe water); deviation requests not approved and issuance suspended for non-compliant periods
• ⚠Leakage deduction reduced from 5% in the PDD to 0% in the 2026 verification report with only a 'deemed negligible' justification, despite the project-specific baseline
• ⚠Additionality was not confirmed by the VVB at validation (2024) but was confirmed at verification (2025), raising questions about the robustness of the additionality case at design stage
• ⚠26 corrective action requests and 13 clarifications raised across verification cycles, including double-counting of a borehole, inconsistent borehole counts (2,038 vs 1,936), and incorrect SDG net-benefit calculations

Credit Vintages