Up Energy Improved Cookstoves Programme, Uganda – CPA No 017

Audit Analysis

The Up Energy Improved Cookstoves Programme in Uganda is a VVB-verified project with a confirmed combined additionality test, a quantified 5% leakage deduction, and no reported reversal events. However, the project-specific baseline, absence of a stated buffer pool, a major FNRB discrepancy between reporting periods (0.39 vs 0.82), and an extensive list of material findings and corrective actions (over 30 items) significantly undermine confidence in data quality and long-term integrity. The project delivered roughly 336% of its pro-rata ex-ante expectation for the elapsed monitoring period, indicating conservative ex-ante estimates but also raising calibration questions.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠FNRB value changed from 0.82 (local field method, 2025 verification) to 0.39 (national default, 2026 verification) — a factor-of-2.1 shift that materially alters the emissions reduction calculation and suggests methodological inconsistency between periods
• ⚠Over 30 material findings and corrective actions across verification and monitoring reports, including circular references in ex-ante ER values, inconsistent parameter values, missing methodology citations, and a crediting period discrepancy (15 years in VPA-DD vs 5 years in MR)
• ⚠FPIC status is contradictory: the 2023 verification report records it as not conducted, while the 2025 validation report records it as conducted — the later document is privileged but the inconsistency weakens safeguards confidence
• ⚠Crediting period discrepancy: the VPA-DD references a 15-year period while the monitoring report states 5 years (2024–2029), flagged as a corrective action in the 2026 verification report

Credit Vintages