VPA 97 - GHG Emission Reduction through use of Bondhu Chula (Improved Cook Stoves) in Bangladesh

Audit Analysis

A Gold Standard cookstove VPA in Bangladesh with a VVB-confirmed combined additionality test and a quantified 5% leakage deduction, but undermined by a massive discrepancy between the verified annual ERR (523,571 tCO2e) and the pro-rata ex-ante expectation (~3,276 tCO2e), the absence of FPIC, and a long list of corrective actions spanning administrative and substantive issues. Multiple contradictions across documents on key parameters (FNRB method, FPIC status, safeguards, leakage rate, crediting period) reduce confidence in the data record.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Verified ERR of 523,571 tCO2e for a single monitoring year is approximately 16,000% of the pro-rata ex-ante expectation (~3,276 tCO2e), suggesting either a severe under-estimation in the ex-ante baseline, a unit/scope mismatch, or over-crediting
• ⚠FPIC was not conducted (per the 2024 verification report), a significant safeguard gap for a project distributing stoves to household users in Bangladesh
• ⚠18+ corrective actions were required across the verification and validation processes, including unresolved questions on stakeholder consultation, grievance mechanism implementation, and credit ownership transfer
• ⚠The additionality test type is contradictory: the PDD (2020) records a common-practice test while the validation report (2025) records a combined test; the more recent validation report is privileged but the discrepancy is unexplained
• ⚠Crediting period is inconsistent: the validation report (2022) states a 5-year period (2021-04-01 to 2026-03-31) while the monitoring report (2024) states a 15-year period (2021-11-15 to 2036-11-14); the 15-year period is privileged as more recent and consistent with Gold Standard rules

Credit Vintages