Building a Data Collaborative for Tracking Aggregate Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Greater Montreal
Project overview
This project aims to enhance greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions tracking and foster data-driven climate initiatives at the municipal level by establishing an emissions data collaborative in Montreal. It will explore how such a collaborative, involving various sectors, can foster a shared data governance framework and convert knowledge into actionable decarbonization strategies.
This initiative underscores the importance of aggregating high-quality GHG emissions data from diverse sources to effectively target and evaluate emissions reduction interventions. By developing a data governance structure and partnership protocol, the project seeks to facilitate secure data sharing and increase access to vital information for crafting policies, regulations and innovations in energy transition.
The Montreal model aims to inspire the creation of similar emissions data collaboratives globally, addressing the critical need for comprehensive data sharing related to GHG emissions.
Key project details
| Principal investigator | Damon Matthews, professor, Geography, Planning and Environment, and Concordia Research Chair in Climate Science and Sustainability |
Co-principal investigators |
Jennifer Garard, affiliate assistant professor, Geography, Planning and Environment, Concordia University; Tracey P. Lauriault, associate professor, Critical Media and Big data, Carleton University |
Research collaborators |
Jean-Noé Landry, Data Studio, Concordia University; Merlin Chatwin, executive director, Open North; Annie Levasseur, executive director, Sustainability in the Digital Age; Micheline Ayoub, executive director, Sustainability in the Digital Age; Allison Reynaud, director general, Montreal Climate Partnership |
| Non-academic partners | City of Montreal (Bureau de la transition socio-écologique et de la résilience), KPMG, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Hydro-Québec, Transition en commun, Coop Carbone, erritoires innovants en économie sociale et solidaire, Microsoft |
| Research Keywords | Data governance & stewardship, digital environmental sustainability, emissions tracking, community empowerment, capacity building, collaborative governance, digital public infrastructure |
| Budget | Cash: $274,000 In-Kind: $34,000 |
Research focus
Landscape analysis
This goal focuses on conducting background research to understand the emissions data landscape in Montreal. It includes stakeholder mapping, analyzing gaps in emissions data, identifying potential new data collection and sharing methods and developing a survey for stakeholders to understand challenges in data collection, sharing, and usage needs related to an emissions dashboard.
Activating the data collaborative
The second goal aims to engage stakeholders identified in the landscape analysis to start developing the data collaborative. It involves recruiting inaugural members from various sectors, holding workshops to build trust and explore data needs, co-developing a data governance plan, focusing on capacity building and equity considerations, and identifying use cases for aggregated data to support decarbonization interventions.
Prototyping and pathways forward
The final goal is centered on creating prototype visualizations, interfaces and functionalities for the emissions dashboard, based on stakeholder needs and insights from previous work packages. This includes using newly shared data to assess progress on emissions targets, refining prototypes with stakeholder feedback and developing pathways to expand the data collaborative's reach, aligning with global reporting standards and developing a report on a replicable model for emissions data collaboratives at the municipal level.
Non-academic partners
Thank you to our non-academic partners for your support and trust.
