VPA 68 - 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 striking 53× gap between the lifetime ex-ante estimate (49,146 tCO₂e) and the single-year verified figure (523,571 tCO₂e), a project-specific baseline, and numerous administrative corrective actions. The project's safeguards framework is partially documented (grievance mechanism present, FPIC not conducted), and multiple cross-document contradictions reduce confidence in the reported figures.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Verified ERR of 523,571 tCO₂e for a single monitoring year is approximately 53× the pro-rata expectation derived from the 49,146 tCO₂e lifetime ex-ante estimate over a 5-year crediting period, raising serious over-crediting concerns
• ⚠FPIC was not conducted per the 2024 verification report, despite the project targeting household-level cookstove adoption in Bangladesh
• ⚠Eleven cross-document contradictions were identified across ERR figures, additionality status, FNRB method, leakage rate, usage rate, and crediting period dates
• ⚠The 2023 verification report recorded additionality as not verified, while the 2024 report confirms it — the basis for the reversal is not explained in the extracted record

Credit Vintages