Up Energy Improved Cookstoves Programme, Uganda – CPA No 018

Audit Analysis

The Up Energy Improved Cookstoves project in Uganda has a confirmed additionality assessment and quantified 5% leakage deduction, but is undermined by a roughly 10-fold over-delivery of verified emissions reductions relative to the pro-rata ex-ante expectation for the elapsed monitoring period, numerous material findings and corrective actions, and a lack of any buffer pool. Multiple contradictions across documents—particularly in FNRB values, FPIC status, and crediting period—further erode confidence in the data integrity of the credit claims.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Verified ERR of 119,997 tCO2e for a 7-month monitoring period is approximately 10× the pro-rata expectation (~11,700 tCO2e) derived from the 89,824 tCO2e lifetime ex-ante estimate over a 5-year crediting period, raising serious over-crediting concerns
• ⚠Corrective action explicitly flags risk of double counting with an existing project ('Cross-check ICS databases to avoid double counting with existing project')
• ⚠No buffer pool percentage is stated in any available document, leaving no financial or credit-based safeguard against potential reversals
• ⚠17 corrective actions and 14 material findings (CLs) were raised across verification and validation reports, including circular references in ex-ante ER values, inconsistent crediting periods (15 years vs 5 years), and missing SDG/safeguard assessments
• ⚠FPIC status is contradictory: the 2025 validation report states FPIC was conducted, while the 2023 verification report states it was not

Credit Vintages