VPA 105 - GHG Emission Reduction through use of Bondhu Chula (Improved Cook Stoves) in Bangladesh

Audit Analysis

This Gold Standard cookstove VPA in Bangladesh has a VVB-verified combined additionality test and a quantified 5% leakage deduction, but is undermined by a 53-fold gap between the ex-ante lifetime estimate and the verified annual figure, the absence of a buffer pool or reversal data, a contradictory FPIC record, and a heavy load of corrective actions. The project-specific baseline and multiple cross-document inconsistencies in ERR figures, usage rates, and safeguards further erode confidence in the integrity and safety of the claimed reductions.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Verified ERR of 523,571 tCO2e for a single 1-year monitoring period is approximately 53× the pro-rata annual expectation derived from the 49,146 tCO2e lifetime ex-ante estimate (9,829 tCO2e/year), indicating a possible scope mismatch or over-crediting
• ⚠No buffer pool percentage or reversal-event data found in any available document, leaving permanence risk unquantified
• ⚠FPIC status is contradictory: the 2024 verification report states it was not conducted, while the 2023 verification report states it was; the more recent record (not conducted) is privileged
• ⚠17+ corrective actions and 5 material findings remain open, including PoA duration compliance, missing major-changes list, and unconfirmed grievance registers
• ⚠ERR figures conflict across documents: 523,571 (2024 VR) vs 352,957 (2023 MR/VR), a 48% gap that is not explained

Credit Vintages Exhausted