By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Digital Editor

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas strengthened its presence on the global climate stage this week as representatives from the Bahamas Aviation, Climate & Severe Weather Network returned for a second year to the Global Carbon Markets Conference, unveiling major advancements in aviation emissions technology and weather intelligence infrastructure.

BACSWN Chief Operating Officer Michael Strachan and Tribune Digital Labs President Quincy Rolle delivered a joint presentation during a dedicated session on day one, drawing international attention to the country’s growing footprint in aviation, meteorology and carbon market innovation.

Their appearance comes as BACSWN prepares to

one of the region’s first next-generation meteorological watch offices and aviation weather centres under a Heads of Agreement signed with the government earlier this year.

Mr Strachan used the session to underscore the climate pressures driving the initiative, noting the vulnerability of small island states and the scale of aviation emissions transiting Bahamian airspace.

“Working with the Government of The Bahamas and wider Caribbean community to assist in bringing certain climate agendas and mandates to fruition especially in the aviation sector,” he said. “Like a lot of neighboring countries The Bahamas is at risk for severe weather experiences due to climate change so it’s important that countries like ourselves and private sector companies come together…to support decarbonization projects and develop projects where we can.”

He noted that under the May 7 Heads of Agreement, BACSWN was appointed the country’s aviation and meteorological authority, with a planned US$427m investment to build infrastructure across key islands.

“BACSWN was formed about 7 years ago in the aftermath of Hurricane Joaquin,” Mr Strachan said, explaining that what began as an aviation visualisation tool has grown into a climate-tech platform with regional and global applications.

He added that The Bahamas — the sixth-largest airspace in the world, with more than 616,000 flights annually — has a unique role in developing credible emissions frameworks.

“For a small island nation the carbon emissions over our airspace adds to the problem we’re already facing,” he said.

Mr Strachan also confirmed the company is finalising a reciprocal agreement with Carbon Management Limited Bahamas to oversee the aviation carbon space, tying into the country’s recently passed Carbon Credits Trading Act.

For his part, Mr Rolle highlighted the evolution of the carbon intelligence platform introduced at last year’s conference and built by Tribune Digital Labs for BACSWN.

He explained how the system integrates BACSWN’s proprietary WxSense net weather network, live flight data, and a custom-built algorithm capable of tracking emissions in real time.

Mr Rolle said the full system is now complete, with 16 patents filed and pending.

“When we built this software we were not fully aware of every problem we were solving which I guess is a good problem to have,” he said.

“We were focusing on helping airlines save on carbon emissions… but additionally we were able to solve a few more problems as well. We’re very pleased to be able to achieve the patent pending status on 16 different patents. But what is really most important is the fact that this platform that we’ve created is also adaptable to any country.”

Both executives are expected to continue high-level meetings with industry participants through the end of the conference.