Up Energy Improved Cookstoves Programme, Uganda – CPA No 003

Audit Analysis

The Up Energy Improved Cookstoves Programme in Uganda is a Gold Standard energy-efficiency project with a quantified 5% leakage deduction and a conservative national-default fNRB, but it is undermined by a verified ERR that exceeds the lifetime ex-ante estimate by roughly 78%, contradictory additionality-verification and FPIC records across documents, and a long trail of clerical and data-consistency findings across multiple verification cycles. The project's safeguards and monitoring framework are present but inconsistently documented, and the absence of stated CORSIA/CCP status leaves dual-channel risk unaddressed.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Verified ERR of 200,769 tCO2e for the 2024-07 to 2024-12 monitoring period is approximately 22× the pro-rata expectation derived from the 113,098 tCO2e lifetime ex-ante estimate (expected ≈ 9,048 tCO2e for 6 months of a 6.25-year crediting period), raising a serious over-crediting concern.
• ⚠Additionality verification status is contradictory: the January 2025 verification report records it as not confirmed by the VVB, while the February 2025 validation report records it as confirmed; the more recent validation report is privileged but the discrepancy weakens confidence.
• ⚠FPIC status is contradictory: the January 2024 verification report states FPIC was not conducted, while the February 2025 validation report states it was conducted; the more recent record is privileged but the inconsistency is a safeguards concern.
• ⚠ERR figures changed between the January 2025 verification report (224,672 tCO2e) and the August 2025 verification report (200,769 tCO2e) without a clear explanation in the extracted record, indicating data-reliability issues.

Credit Vintages