VM0050 Energy Efficiency and Fuel-Switch Measures in Cookstoves, v1.0

This methodology applies to project activities that deploy improved cookstoves in households, communities, institutions, and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. The emission reductions result either from enhanced efficiency and/or fuel switch to lower greenhouse gas-intensive fuels (i.e., involving the replacement of fossil fuels and non-renewable biomass).

This methodology is eligible for immediate use in the VCS Program and replaces VMR0006, v1.2 and VMR0011, v1.0. It includes several updates and changes that reflect current best practices of project design and implementation in distributed thermal energy generation. It also incorporates streamlined monitoring approaches such as direct measurement techniques (e.g., stove use monitors, fuel weight sensors, electricity meters), prescribes robust means for the determination of parameter values (like fNRB), and contains updated default values for various ex-ante parameters (like baseline device efficiency). Moreover, it covers a broad set of activities and consolidates elements of the following methodologies:

1. VCS Methodology Revision VMR0006 Energy Efficiency and Fuel Switch Measures in Thermal Applications, v1.2
2. VCS Methodology Revision VMR0011 Switch from Non-Renewable Biomass For Thermal Applications by the User, v1.0
3. AMS-II.G. Energy efficiency measures in thermal applications of non-renewable biomass, v13.1 (external)
4. AMS-I.E. Switch from non-renewable biomass for thermal applications by the user, v13.0 (external)

• Projects that request listing on the Verra registry on or after October 9, 2024, and projects renewing their crediting period that complete validation after May 31, 2025, must validate using VM0050.
• Projects that complete validation before May 31, 2025, have the option to complete validation under VRM0006, v1.2 or VMR0011, v1.0.
• Registered projects using AMS-II.G., AMS I.E., VMR0006, or VMR0011 can update past verification periods and requantify the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions from these periods in accordance with VM0050 and the forthcoming Methodology Change and Requantification Procedure.
• All projects must use VM0050 starting with the 2027 vintage year at the latest. For projects switching to VM0050 for the 2027 vintage year, the updated project description can be validated and submitted along with the verification and monitoring reports for that year. Such submissions can be made up to five years after the last verification.
• On February 3, 2025, Verra released VM0050 v1.0 Corrections and Clarifications (PDF). All new projects and projects on the Verra registry must complete validation using these corrections and clarifications.
• VM0050, v1.0 is available in digital format on the Verra Project Hub and can be accessed through the Digital Project Submission Tool. Proponents are encouraged to use the digital versions of methodologies as they become available. Please email hubsupport@verra.org for support or to request access to the Verra Project Hub.

VM0050, v1.0 has been approved by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) as meeting the requirements of the Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) Assessment Framework. Please note that to receive CCP labels for the credits they generate, projects using VM0050 must meet certain conditions. A guidance document outlining Verra’s process for CCP labeling, the ICVCM CCP Label Guidance (PDF), is available on the VCS Rules and Requirements page.

Where the ICVCM has determined that additional CCP label criteria have to be met for a project using a CCP-approved methodology to receive CCP labels, these criteria are checked at the verification review by a validation/verification body (VVB) and Verra. All projects using VM0050 that intend to request CCP labels at issuance must have a completed VM0050 CCP Eligibility Verification Report Checklist Template (.docx) attached as an appendix to the project’s verification report. Where VCUs have been issued from projects using multiple methodologies, only VCUs from projects solely using CCP-approved methodologies are eligible for CCP labels.

Per the ICVCM decision (external), projects using VM0050, v1.0 also have to comply with the following additional criteria to be eligible for CCP labels:

• The fNRB value must meet the following criteria:
  • The fNRB value must be from the latest version of CDM Tool 33 for emission reductions achieved on or before December 31, 2025, or
  • the fNRB value must be drawn from the MoFuSS model.
• Fuel consumption must meet the following criteria:
  • Fuel consumption must be determined using a Kitchen Performance Test (KPT) or Controlled Cooking Test (CCT), or
  • fuel consumption must be determined using methodology default values with cross-checks on fuel savings.
• Charcoal projects must meet the following criteria:
  • Projects must use a direct charcoal emission factor (which may include production emissions), or
  • projects must use a wood-to-charcoal conversion factor of 4:1.

The Reviewer Checklist for VM0050, v1.0 (xlsx) was developed by Verra to support our internal registration, verification and joint registration-verification review of projects that apply that methodology. We are sharing it for use by stakeholders, especially project proponents and validation/verification bodies.

• Users are encouraged to use this checklist to improve their understanding of the methodology and the key issues that Verra looks for during its review. It is not an exhaustive list of issues. Verra reserves the right to check any issue to determine whether the VVB has appropriately assessed and fully described how it has assessed the project’s conformance to VCS Program rules.
• If any discrepancies with the methodology are encountered, the methodology requirements contained in the VM0050, v1.0 document, with any and all corrections and clarifications applied, shall take precedence.