Up Energy Improved Cookstoves Programme, Uganda – CPA No 020

Audit Analysis

The Up Energy Improved Cookstoves project in Uganda has a VVB-confirmed additionality assessment and a quantified 5% leakage deduction, but is undermined by a project-specific baseline, no buffer pool, and a critical inconsistency where the verified emissions reductions for a 7-month monitoring period (119,997 tCO₂e) exceed the entire lifetime ex-ante estimate (113,098 tCO₂e). Multiple contradictions across verification reports on key parameters (FNRB, usage rate, ERR) and a disputed FPIC status further erode confidence in the project's data integrity.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Verified ERR of 119,997 tCO₂e for a 7-month monitoring period exceeds the entire 5-year lifetime ex-ante estimate of 113,098 tCO₂e, implying the project delivered ~907% of the pro-rata expectation — a ratio that is implausible and suggests either a severely underestimated ex-ante baseline or a data error in the monitoring report.
• ⚠FPIC status is directly contradicted between the 2024 verification report (not conducted) and the 2025 validation report (conducted), leaving the free, prior, and informed consent of affected communities in genuine doubt.
• ⚠Crediting period is stated as 5 years in the 2026 monitoring report but 15 years in the 2024 monitoring report, creating uncertainty about the true project duration and the basis of the ex-ante estimate.

Credit Vintages