Office of Climate Change, Government of Palau

🇵🇼 From Bonn to COP31: Why SB64 matters for Palau

Climate decisions are not made overnight.

Before countries gather at COP31 in Türkiye later this year, negotiators are meeting at SB64 in Bonn, Germany, to advance the technical work that underpins global climate action.

🌊 For Small Island Developing States like Palau, SB64 is where important discussions take place on:

📍 Adaptation and resilience
💰 Climate finance
🤝 Capacity building
📊 Transparency and implementation
🌱 The Global Goal on Adaptation

While COP31 will be where major decisions are adopted, SB64 is where much of the groundwork is laid.

As a Large Ocean State, Palau continues to engage in these negotiations to help ensure that the priorities and realities of vulnerable island communities remain at the center of global climate action.

The Office of Climate Change joined partners and stakeholders on May 19, 2026, for the Pacific Climate Change Migration and Human Security (PCCMHS) Programme Phase II Workshop on Planned Relocation in the Context of Climate Change in Koror. Delivered with IOM - UN Migration through PCCMHS Phase II, the workshop focused on climate mobility in Palau and what future planning could look like as climate impacts continue to affect communities.

Discussions drew on experiences from Melekeok and Ngiwal, where relocation conversations emerged following Typhoon Bopha. Conversations highlighted that moving to safer areas is not always straightforward. Connections to ancestral lands, family communities, and cultural obligations remain deeply important, with similar concerns raised across communities around communication, long term safety, and future planning.

Lessons shared throughout the workshop pointed to the need for earlier planning, clearer roles across agencies, stronger accountability, and more consistent engagement with communities as this work continues in Palau.

Building the next generation of Pacific climate leaders 🌏🇵🇼

Palau was pleased to have two young negotiators participate in this regional initiative focused on strengthening skills and understanding of the UNFCCC negotiation process. Opportunities like these create space for emerging negotiators to learn, connect, and build the experience needed to represent Pacific priorities on the global stage.

We look forward to seeing these experiences continue to strengthen Palau’s engagement in international climate discussions.

🌏 Climate action goes beyond emission reduction.

Palau may contribute only a very small share of global greenhouse gas emissions, but as a small island nation, we continue to experience the impacts of climate change firsthand. Through Palau’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) 3.0, we are reaffirming our commitment to a more climate resilient and low carbon future.

Our NDC 3.0 outlines actions across renewable energy, transport, forests, adaptation, and community resilience while recognizing that protecting our people, culture, and ecosystems remains at the heart of climate action.

Because climate action is not only about numbers. It is about protecting communities, protecting ecosystems, and protecting our future. 🇵🇼

Read the full Nationally Determined Contribution 3.0 here:
https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/2026-01/Palau%20Final%20Endorsed%20NDC%203.0.pdf

📱🌿 What if a phone could help us better understand how mangroves are responding to sea level rise?

Protected Area Network (PAN) Rangers recently joined a hands on training led by Office of Climate Change scientist Dr. Richard MacKenzie, alongside Dr. Rob Chancia and partners, to learn how smartphone technology is being used to monitor changes in mangrove forests across Palau.

Using iPhones, participants scanned mangrove monitoring plots to create detailed elevation maps that help track changes happening over time. Rangers also had an opportunity to see traditional monitoring methods in action and learn how different approaches can work together.

By putting practical tools directly into the hands of communities and resource managers, efforts like these continue strengthening local monitoring and helping us better understand the changes happening around us.

Swipe through to see PAN Rangers in action 👇

Communities in Koror are leading climate resilience efforts from the ground up. 🌿💧

A community led initiative to restore the Ngesaol watershed in Ngermid Hamlet, Koror State is now underway, with the Koror State Youth Council (KSYC) and community members taking the lead in strengthening water resilience for future generations amid ongoing dry conditions affecting reliable water sources.

Supported through the Communities Climate Adaptation Facility (C-CAF), the initiative reflects how locally driven climate adaptation can empower communities to develop and implement practical resilience solutions that respond directly to local needs.

This watershed restoration effort is the first of three C-CAF supported community adaptation projects currently being advanced across Palau, helping communities strengthen resilience through locally led action.

To support restoration activities, the Government of Palau, in partnership with the Global Centre for Climate Mobility (GCCM), officially handed over equipment during a ceremony attended by MPII Minister Charles Obichang, Governor Eyos Rudimch, and Mr. Xavier Erbai Matsutaro of the Office of Climate Change.

The initiative also highlights the important role of youth leadership and community participation in advancing climate resilience efforts in Palau.

📢 The Palau Office of Climate Change is now inviting applications for three consultancy opportunities supporting the development of Palau’s First Biennial Transparency Report (BTR1) under the Paris Agreement.

These consultancies, funded through the UNEP Fourth National Communication project, will support key areas of Palau’s climate reporting and transparency efforts, including adaptation, loss and damage, greenhouse gas inventories, and mitigation reporting.

Strengthening national climate transparency systems is an important part of advancing evidence based climate action and meeting reporting commitments under the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) of the Paris Agreement.

We are currently seeking consultants for the following positions:

🔹 Adaptation and Loss & Damage Chapters Consultant
🔹 Climate Adaptation & Loss and Damage Consultant
🔹 GHG Inventory and Mitigation/NCS Chapters Consultant

Public Notice Period: May 11–25, 2026
Bidding Period: May 26 – June 9, 2026
Proposal Opening Date: June 10, 2026

📄 Procurement documents and specifications will be available beginning May 26, 2026 through the Bureau of Human Resources and the Palau Government procurement website.

📧 For more information, contact the Bureau of Human Resources at [email protected]
or +680 767 2415 / 1126.

The Palau Climate Change Policy 2025–2035 is now live on the Palau Office of Climate Change website 🌏

The Policy outlines Palau’s national direction on climate action for the next decade, including priorities for adaptation, resilience, disaster risk reduction, financing, governance, and sustainable development.

You can also find Palau’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0) on the website.

Read the documents here:
climatechange.pw

Pleased to see the launch of the CBIT Project in Palau in collaboration with the GGGI Pacific.

For the OCC, this work advances national systems for greenhouse gas inventory development and NDC tracking, strengthening the data foundation for informed climate policy and reporting.

We look forward to working closely with partners and national stakeholders as this effort moves forward.

Mesulang to all involved.

Palau at the IPCC Micronesia Dialogue in Nadi

The Office of Climate Change is in Nadi, Fiji this week for the Pacific Micronesia Sub-Regional Dialogue on the IPCC and knowledge brokerage.

Representing Palau are Xavier Matsutaro, National Climate Change Coordinator; Dr. Yimnang Golbuu, Palau Representative and IPCC Author; and Toni Soalablai, Communications Officer.

The workshop opened against the backdrop of Tropical Cyclone Vaianu, a reminder of the very risks being discussed.

The discussions focus on how Micronesian countries engage with the IPCC, particularly as the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7) cycle begins. This includes practical pathways for Pacific experts to contribute as authors, strengthening regional coordination, and ensuring Pacific knowledge is reflected in global climate assessments.

For Palau, engagement in the IPCC process is important. These reports inform global climate decisions, and it is critical that they reflect the realities, priorities, and knowledge of small island states.

Through this dialogue, Palau continues to work with regional partners to strengthen participation and ensure Pacific perspectives are part of the science that shapes global action.