Up Energy Improved Cookstoves Programme, Uganda – CPA No 044 supported by Republic of Korea

Audit Analysis

The Up Energy Improved Cookstoves Programme in Uganda has a VVB-verified additionality assessment and quantified leakage deduction, but is undermined by a critical discrepancy between the verified annual ERR (600,815 tCO₂e for 2022) and the lifetime ex-ante estimate (113,098 tCO₂e), a project-specific baseline, absence of a buffer pool, and multiple cross-document contradictions. The project's safeguards and stakeholder engagement are well documented, but the ERR inconsistency and methodological contradictions create significant over-crediting risk.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Verified ERR of 600,815 tCO₂e for the 2022 monitoring period is approximately 26.6× the annualized lifetime ex-ante estimate of 113,098 tCO₂e (22,620 tCO₂e/year over 5 years), raising serious over-crediting concerns
• ⚠Corrective action required cross-checking ICS databases to avoid double counting with an existing project, indicating a potential double-claiming risk was identified by the VVB
• ⚠Usage monitoring method is contradicted between documents: the 2022 verification report states 'annual survey' while the 2024 appendix states 'assumed', undermining MRV reliability
• ⚠FNRB method is contradicted: the 2022 verification report uses a national default while the 2025 validation report references a local field measurement, creating uncertainty about which value underpins the credit calculation

Credit Vintages Exhausted