VPA 53 - GHG Emission Reduction through use of Bondhu Chula (Improved Cook Stoves) in Bangladesh

Audit Analysis

A Gold Standard cookstove project in Bangladesh with a VVB-confirmed combined additionality test and a quantified 5% leakage deduction, but undermined by the absence of a buffer pool, a project-specific baseline with no reassessment record, and ten documented contradictions across source files. The claimed and verified emission reductions are identical (523,571 tCO₂e), leaving no safety margin, and multiple corrective actions remain open.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠No buffer pool or permanence mechanism is stated in any available document for a project where stoves can be replaced by traditional cookstoves, creating unmitigated reversal risk over a 15-year crediting period.
• ⚠The claimed and verified emission reduction figures are identical (523,571 tCO₂e) in the 2024 verification report, suggesting the claim was calibrated to the verification rather than being an independent ex-ante estimate.
• ⚠Ten contradictions exist across documents, including a 47% gap in verified ERR (523,571 vs 352,957), a 10-year discrepancy in crediting period length (15 vs 5 years), and conflicting FPIC and FNRB-method statements.
• ⚠Multiple 'likely CARs' from the VVB remain open, including verification of stove serial-number tracking to prevent double counting and substantiation of credit-ownership transfer from users to the CME.

Credit Vintages