VPA 20 - GHG Emission Reduction through use of Bondhu Chula (Improved Cook Stoves) in Bangladesh

Audit Analysis

A Gold Standard cookstove project in Bangladesh with VVB-confirmed additionality and a quantified leakage deduction, but undermined by an extensive list of data-quality findings, 27 corrective actions, a project-specific baseline, and unresolved contradictions in ERR figures and crediting-period dates across documents. The conservative verified usage rate (0.93 vs. 0.99 assumed) and national-default fNRB provide some claim-safety margin, yet the PoA-duration challenge (28 years vs. 20-year GS maximum) and stove-lifetime crediting questions raise over-crediting risk.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠30+ material findings in the verification report, including inconsistent emission-reduction values between the monitoring report and ER worksheet, missing sample calculations, and unit inconsistencies for fNRB, ηb, and ηp parameters
• ⚠27 corrective actions required, spanning data-transfer errors, missing spreadsheet references, and unresolved inconsistencies in user records across 47,508 end-user entries
• ⚠PoA duration of 28 years challenged against the Gold Standard 20-year maximum; accepted only via transition rules (CAR 02)
• ⚠Stove crediting beyond the 5-year design lifetime questioned; accepted on the basis of a 7-year manufacturer certificate and usage data
• ⚠Contradiction in leakage deduction: 0.95% in the 2023 verification report vs. 5% in the 2020 verification report

Credit Vintages