IMPROVED COOKSTOVES DISTRIBUTION IN MOZAMBIQUE – SOFALA AND MANICA PROVINCES

Audit Analysis

This VCS cookstove project in Mozambique has a confirmed investment-test additionality and a quantified 5% leakage deduction, but is undermined by a 0% buffer pool, a reversal claim of 'not applicable' that is contradicted by evidence of end-users still using baseline stoves, and an extensive list of over 50 material findings and corrective actions spanning baseline, monitoring, SDG reporting, and stakeholder engagement. The first-year verified reductions (30,350 tCO₂e) represent only about 17% of the pro-rata expectation derived from the lifetime ex-ante estimate, and key parameters such as usage rates and CCP/CORSIA status are absent from the record.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠0% buffer pool for a cookstove project where stoves have a finite 3–5 year lifespan and the verification report itself notes end-users still using baseline stoves, yet reversal is declared 'not applicable'
• ⚠Over 50 material findings in the verification report, including failure to demonstrate end-user informed consent on carbon rights transfer, incomplete project database, double-counting of stove IDs, and an obsolete fNRB source
• ⚠First-year verified reductions (30,350 tCO₂e) are only ~17% of the pro-rata annual expectation (~177,944 tCO₂e) derived from the 1,779,441 tCO₂e lifetime ex-ante estimate over a 10-year crediting period
• ⚠Usage rate (assumed and verified) is not stated in any available document, leaving the core adoption assumption unquantified
• ⚠CCP status and CORSIA eligibility are not stated in any available document, leaving double-claiming risk unassessed

Credit Vintages