Up Energy Improved Cookstoves Programme, Uganda – CPA No 007

Audit Analysis

The Up Energy Improved Cookstoves Programme in Uganda is a well-structured Gold Standard project under the established AMS-II.G methodology, with a quantified 5% leakage deduction and a recent (2024) baseline reassessment. However, the most recent verification report (August 2025) does not confirm VVB verification of additionality, no buffer pool is in place, and the cumulative verified emissions reductions (200,769 tCO₂e) already exceed the lifetime ex-ante estimate (113,098 tCO₂e) by roughly 77% with only about 55% of the crediting period elapsed, raising a material over-crediting concern. Numerous data inconsistencies and corrective actions across verification and monitoring reports further erode confidence in the MRV chain.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Cumulative verified ERR of 200,769 tCO₂e exceeds the lifetime ex-ante estimate of 113,098 tCO₂e by ~77% while only ~55% of the crediting period has elapsed, indicating a significant over-crediting risk.
• ⚠The most recent verification report (Aug 2025) does not confirm VVB verification of additionality, reversing the position in the Sep 2023 verification report.
• ⚠No buffer pool is in place to cover potential reversals from stove end-of-life, and no permanence claim period is stated.
• ⚠FPIC status is contradictory: the validation report (Feb 2025) states FPIC was conducted, while the verification report (Jan 2025) states it was not.
• ⚠Crediting period is inconsistent across documents: 2021-07-22 to 2027-10-20 (monitoring report, Aug 2025) versus 2024-12-05 to 2029-12-04 (validation report, Feb 2025).

Credit Vintages