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 |
Publications:
P. M. Forster et al., “Indicators of Global Climate Change 2024: annual update of key indicators of the state of the climate system and human influence,” Earth Syst. Sci. Data, vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 2641–2680, June 2025, doi: 10.5194/essd-17-2641-2025.
F. J. Bohn et al., “Reviews and syntheses: Current perspectives on biosphere research 2024–2025 – eight findings from ecology, sociology, and economics,” Biogeosciences, vol. 22, no. 10, pp. 2425–2460, May 2025, doi: 10.5194/bg-22-2425-2025.
R. C. Evans and H. D. Matthews, “The effectiveness of agricultural carbon dioxide removal using the University of Victoria Earth System Climate Model,” Biogeosciences, vol. 22, no. 8, pp. 1969–1984, Apr. 2025, doi: 10.5194/bg-22-1969-2025.
M. R. Allen et al., “Geological Net Zero and the need for disaggregated accounting for carbon sinks,” Nature, vol. 638, no. 8050, pp. 343–350, Feb. 2025, doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08326-8.
Y. G. Yuh, K. P. N’Goran, A. Kross, M. Heurich, H. D. Matthews, and S. E. Turner, “Monitoring forest cover and land use change in the Congo Basin under IPCC climate change scenarios,” PLoS ONE, vol. 19, no. 12, p. e0311816, Dec. 2024, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0311816.
L. Langer, M. Brander, S. M. Lloyd, D. Keles, H. D. Matthews, and A. Bjørn, “Does the purchase of voluntary renewable energy certificates lead to emission reductions? A review of studies quantifying the impact,” Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 478, p. 143791, Nov. 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.143791.
C.-M. Nzotungicimpaye and H. D. Matthews, “Linking cumulative carbon emissions to observable climate impacts,” Environ. Res.: Climate, vol. 3, no. 3, p. 032001, Sept. 2024, doi: 10.1088/2752-5295/ad3fda.
[6]
S. Wynes et al., “Perceptions of carbon dioxide emission reductions and future warming among climate experts,” Commun Earth Environ, vol. 5, no. 1, p. 498, Sept. 2024, doi: 10.1038/s43247-024-01661-8.
J. Garard and H. D. Matthews, “Digitizing nature Gaia’s Web Karen Bakker MIT Press, 2024. 288 pp.,” Science, vol. 384, no. 6691, pp. 39–39, Apr. 2024, doi: 10.1126/science.ado4359.
Accepted publications in national and international conferences:
M. Dickau and H. D. Matthews, “The proportionality between tonne-years of temporary carbon storage and inertial climate variables ” Accessed: Nov. 21, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU25/EGU25-7422.html
H. D. Matthews, K. Zickfeld, A. MacIsaac, and M. Dickau, “Effect of land carbon accounting methods on the climate response to cumulative CO2 emissions.” Accessed: Nov. 21, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU25/EGU25-13389.html
A. MacIsaac, K. Zickfeld, D. Matthews, and A. MacDougall, “The reforestation-TCRE: A metric to quantify the effect of reforestation on global temperature.” Accessed: Nov. 21, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU25/EGU25-11301.html
« Guette ta glace » Adapter la patinoire au changement climatique, La Presse, 27 January, 2025.
« Guette ta glace » | Adapter la patinoire au changement climatique, Noovo, 27 January, 2025.
New survey of IPCC authors reveals doubt, and hope, that world will achieve climate targets, the Conversation, October 17, 2024.
Climate scientists express their views on possible future climate scenarios: new study, the Suburban, October 9, 2024.
Les technologies de modification du rayonnement solaire ne font pas consensus. Voici pourquoi, the Conversation, October 9, 2024.
Climate experts predict global warming will far exceed Paris goals, Earth.com, October 7, 2024.
Honest dialogue is needed to help build consensus around solar radiation modification technology, the Conversation, May 30, 2024.
Damon Matthews: Royal Society of Canada Honoree, Royal Society of Canada, 2025
Damon Matthews: Member of Canada's Net-Zero Advisory Body, Environment and Climate Change Canada, March 10, 2025.
Jean-Noé Landry: Honorable Mention in 2024 International Sustainable Campus Network Excellence Awards, International Sustainable Campus Network, January 24, 2025.
Jean-Noé Landry: Finalist in 2024 Green Gown awards, Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (UK), October 7, 2024.
Jean-Noé Landry: Among headline initiatives spotlighted in the Cahier de Suivi des Engagements 2024, published during the 2024 Montreal Climate Summit, Partenariat Climat Montreal, May 9, 2024.
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.
Volt-Age is funded by a $123-million grant from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund.
