Our Work
The Transition Accelerator is aimed at delivering major, scalable system transitions to harness social and economic disruption to build viable transition pathways to a net-zero future. Our work identifies and advances only those transitions that are compelling, capable, and credible.
Our current priorities are:
Latest
Halocarbon management in Quebec
Halocarbons are gases mostly used as refrigerants in heat transfer systems, for cooling in air-conditioning and refrigeration systems, and for heating in heat pumps. However, several of these gases, when released in the atmosphere, deplete the ozone layer and increase global warming. Therefore, the Montreal protocol, and the Kigali amendment afterwards, were ratified by most of the countries in the world, with the objective to better control these gases and reduce their impact on the environment. Following these protocols, the management of halocarbons is framed with a strict regulation in Quebec, where the exploitation of the most dangerous gases and the voluntary emission in the atmosphere of other halocarbons is forbidden. At the end of life of devices working with such gases, the owners have the obligation to hire a specialized company to recover these gases. These companies can then treat the gases, to be able to use them again, or destroy them
Challenges, levers and obstacles to the decarbonization of commercial and institutional buildings in Quebec
The maturity of technologies to decarbonize buildings allows the sector to resolutely engage on this track with a tight schedule to compensate the difficulties met by other sectors, like transport.
Report: Disruptive forces influencing the sustainability of Canada’s agri-food sector
This report examines recent developments in Canada’s agri-food sector, focusing on emerging trends with
the potential to disrupt existing practices and their implications for sustainability.
Report: Getting on an Efficient Decarbonization Track
This report’s objective is to quantify the economic benefits of creating better intertie capacity between electricity markets in northeastern North America. The benefits of better interconnecting northeastern electricity markets are significant in nature, but not widely acknowledged. Many decarbonization studies ignore integration, which is problematic when game-changing hydropower reservoirs could be used to help reduce the cost of integrating large amounts of intermittent renewable capacity.
Report: Autonomous Vehicles, Parking & the Real Estate Sector
For the past 100 years, the automobile, especially personally owned vehicles, have greatly impacted the design of our cities and how we live in them. However, Canada’s personal mobility systems are poised to be radically transformed by the convergence of four disruptive technology and business model innovations: vehicle automation, connectivity, electrification and car sharing. Together, these innovations enable Autonomous Mobility-on-Demand (AMoD), whereby fleets of autonomous, connected and driverless vehicles will pick up and drop off passengers, effectively replacing the need for personal vehicle ownership, while providing a more convenient, safer and lower cost service.
Report: Hydrogen: An Overview – Eastern Canada
SECTION 1 Thirty-six hydrogen-focused businesses identified through industry discussions, were surveyed for their perspectives on opportunities, challenges and progress in expanding the ‘hydrogen economy’. Fifteen of these companies provided detailed discussions on their current operations. SECTION 2 outlines active research programs in hydrogen production (25 research institutions), storage (16 institutions), and hydrogen utilization (13 institutions).
Report: Thinking about the future of autonomous vehicles
This report explores whether we should support the rapid introduction of autonomous vehicles in the hope that they will unlock changes in the mobility system that facilitate more low-carbon travel or be more cautious on the ground that they might make things worse.
Report – Pathways to Net Zero: A Decision Support Tool
The purpose of this report is to provide a simple tool to help those concerned with policy and
investment decisions to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions in Canada.
Analysis of the commercial and institutional buildings sector
This report constitutes a description and analysis of the building sector, and in particular of C&I buildings in Quebec and in Canada.
Report – The Rise Of The Automobile: Lessons From Historical Canadian Transportation Transitions
This paper examines the experience of an earlier transition in land transport that saw the rapid adoption of the automobile.