VPA 56 - GHG Emission Reduction through use of Bondhu Chula (Improved Cook Stoves) in Bangladesh

Audit Analysis

A Gold Standard improved cookstove VPA in Bangladesh with a confirmed combined additionality test and a 5% quantified leakage deduction, but weakened by a project-specific baseline, absence of FPIC (per the 2024 verification report), no stated buffer pool, and numerous corrective actions across documents. The ERR figures are internally consistent within the 2024 verification report but diverge from the 2023 monitoring report, and the absence of an ex-ante lifetime estimate limits the ability to assess over-crediting risk.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠FPIC not conducted per the 2024 verification report, contradicting the 2023 validation report which stated it was conducted — a material safeguards gap for a household-level cookstove project
• ⚠No ex-ante lifetime ERR figure found in any document, preventing a meaningful pro-rata comparison of verified vs. expected reductions
• ⚠18+ corrective actions required across verification and validation reports, including substantive items on stakeholder consultation, grievance mechanism confirmation, and credit transfer ownership evidence
• ⚠Crediting period discrepancy: the 2022 validation report states a 5-year period (2021–2026) while the 2024 monitoring report states 15 years (2021–2036), with the PoA duration of 28 years challenged against the Gold Standard 20-year maximum

Credit Vintages