VPA 58- GHG Emission Reduction through use of Bondhu Chula (Improved Cook Stoves) in Bangladesh

Audit Analysis

A Gold Standard cookstove project in Bangladesh with a verified combined additionality test and a 5% quantified leakage deduction, but weakened by the absence of a buffer pool, a project-specific baseline with no recorded reassessment, and a substantial list of corrective actions and clarifications raised by the VVB. The verified usage rate (98.3%) exceeds the assumed rate (90%), which is conservative and supports claim safety, yet multiple cross-document contradictions—particularly on FPIC status, the crediting period length, and the FNRB method—reduce confidence in the overall record.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠The verification report (Aug 2024) records FPIC as not conducted, contradicting the validation report (Apr 2023) which recorded it as conducted; the more recent verification report is privileged, leaving a safeguards gap.
• ⚠The PoA duration of 28 years exceeds the Gold Standard maximum of 20 years; the VVB raised this as a corrective action (CAR 02) and it was justified only via transition rules.
• ⚠The crediting period is stated as 15 years (2021–2036) in the 2024 monitoring report but 5 years (2021–2026) in the 2022 validation report; the later document is privileged but the discrepancy is unexplained.
• ⚠The FNRB method is recorded as 'national_default' in the 2024 verification report but 'local_field' in the 2023 validation report, indicating a methodological shift that is not clearly documented.

Credit Vintages