Berkeley Carbon Trading Project has published one of the most comprehensive and critical analyses of cookstove carbon projects. They have come up with a set of 3 recommendations, which ixo’s digital platform is deeply aligned with:
They point out that only the cleanest burning stoves (Tier 4 or 5 on a 5-tier scale) produce a significant reduction in health risks, compared with baseline cooking solutions such as firewood and charcoal. One of the healthy stoves listed, the Mimi Moto stove, is currently used to generate carbon credits on the ixo platform.
This methodology is based on measured or metered usage; for example, how many biomass pellets a particular stove user has purchased. This provides a far more accurate proxy for usage (and thus impact and carbon credits) than random sample surveys, which are most commonly used in other methodologies to estimate usage.
The ixo digital platform has implemented this methodology. In fact, each Carbon certificate shows in granular detail all the parameter values that have been used in the calculations.
We currently use values from corresponding Gold Standard programs and are closely following the evolving science around the complex and multi-faceted factors mentioned. For example, we are paying attention to the latest fNRB study commissioned by the UNFCCC, and are ready to adopt or change our methods accordingly.
We offer a mechanism for upfront financing by selling digital twins of clean cookstoves. These digital twins grant owners the rights to future Impact Credits generated by the stove. This innovative financing approach enables clean cooking projects to scale rapidly, allowing the deployment of two additional cookstoves to households for each digital twin sold.
