Overview:
A proposed digital carbon platform presented during the Pacific Islands Forum could give Palau a centralized way to track climate projects, review carbon-credit authorizations and measure progress toward its national climate targets. The system remains at the concept stage and has not been adopted by the Palau government.
Platform aims to strengthen government oversight as Pacific states enter carbon markets
By: Laurel Marewibuel
KOROR, Palau — Palau was shown a proposed digital platform during the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting that could help governments track carbon projects, review authorizations and measure their contributions to national climate targets.
The platform, called Angarva, was presented by Tamara Bujhawan, founder and managing director of Mora Carbon Consult, during a Forum-week side event titled “From Project Concept to Registration Ready: Climate Finance and Resilient Solutions for Pacific Island States.”
The event was convened by Pacific 100, an initiative operated by APAC 2 IMPACT.
Angarva is designed to guide carbon projects from the initial concept through methodology selection, documentation, evidence collection, quality checks and submission to an appropriate carbon registry. It is intended to support both voluntary carbon standards and projects developed under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
For Pacific island countries, entering carbon markets can require substantial technical and financial resources. Project developers must select a methodology, establish a baseline, prepare documentation and supporting evidence, and undergo review before carbon credits can be issued.
The process can take years and cost tens of thousands of dollars in consulting fees.
Small island states have potential carbon projects involving mangrove and seagrass conservation, renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste management and other climate activities. But limited government and technical capacity can make it difficult to move projects through the carbon-market process.
Romona Guan, founder of APAC 2 IMPACT, said many Pacific projects face the same challenge.
“Every pathway we work on in the Pacific eventually arrives at the same wall,” Guan said, referring to the technical work required to turn projects into verifiable and financeable carbon projects.
She said Angarva could put some of that technical expertise directly into the platform rather than requiring governments and project developers to rely entirely on outside consultants.
Bujhawan said the platform was developed in response to the barriers small island states face in accessing carbon markets.
The proposed government interface would allow officials to work from the same project record used by developers and consultants. Demonstration screens created for a Palau-like setting showed projects by sector, carbon standard, development stage and expected credit volume.
The screens were illustrative only and were not connected to a live system or Palau government data.
Among the proposed government functions are an NDC tracker, an authorization workflow and an Article 6 ledger.
The NDC tracker would show how individual projects contribute to national climate commitments. The authorization system would allow officials to establish national criteria, attach conditions, issue authorization letters and monitor renewals.
The Article 6 ledger would track carbon authorized for international transfer, amounts transferred and the remaining space under a country’s national climate target.
Bujhawan described the ledger as a way to make the risk of authorizing more carbon credits than a country can account for more visible.
The platform could also be configured to screen projects against national requirements, including eligible sectors, excluded activities, safeguards and benefit-sharing rules.
Bujhawan said Angarva is intended to improve access without lowering standards. Project claims would be linked to supporting evidence, while quality checks would be conducted against the requirements of the applicable carbon standard before submission.
The system would also maintain a version history showing changes made during validation and monitoring.
A potential Palau test could involve mangrove or seagrass conservation, renewable energy projects that reduce diesel consumption, energy-efficiency improvements in public buildings, waste projects or an Article 6 readiness exercise.
The proposed process would begin with government scoping, followed by project preparation and a platform demonstration. Only after those steps would Palau decide whether to consider a limited pilot.
According to the presentation, participation could end at any stage without liability, and Palau-specific findings and materials developed through the process would belong to the government.
Angarva remains at the concept stage. It has no registry partnerships, government adoption, registered projects or issued carbon credits.
The presentation did not represent an endorsement by the Republic of Palau. Any future government collaboration would be nonbinding and nonexclusive, with regulatory and decision-making authority remaining with Palau.