Clean Cookstoves: Carbon Credits Spark Collapse

In February 2026, KOKO Networks, a significant developer of clean cooking solutions in Africa, abruptly ceased operations, leaving over one million Kenyan households without access to its services. The company's failure has sent shockwaves through the carbon credit market, where clean cookstove projects are a substantial source of credits, particularly those aligned with CORSIA for the aviation industry.

KOKO Networks, like many competitors, relied heavily on income from carbon credits, sold based on asserted reductions in deforestation and lower-emission cooking fuels. However, the company struggled to substantiate its claimed carbon reductions, with ratings indicating a low likelihood of achieving the target avoidance or removal of CO2e. This has amplified broader concerns about the integrity of clean cookstove carbon credits, with studies revealing significant overestimations of carbon benefits.

Recent developments in the carbon market include the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market's (ICVCM) approval of new methodologies under its Core Carbon Principles (CCP). These require a more conservative approach to calculating emission reductions, such as the fraction of non-renewable biomass (fNRB). While this aims to improve credit quality, some worry it could impact project economics, potentially hindering scalability and the essential carbon credit revenue needed to fund clean cooking initiatives.

Despite the challenges and inherent imperfections in the carbon market mechanism, it remains the primary avenue for funding large-scale clean cooking interventions. Concerns over greenwashing and reputational risk lead some buyers to remain cautious, yet the underlying need for these projects is underscored by the fact that companies like KOKO cannot sustain themselves without carbon credit revenue. This highlights the critical role of carbon markets, however flawed, in driving tangible environmental and social benefits.