Executive Summary:
This study examines how Quebec government departments perceive and manage methodological, institutional, and political challenges in measuring and monitoring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions from public climate actions. In a context where stakeholders frequently question the quality and credibility of climate data, the study identifies the main factors shaping performance measurement practices and institutional attitudes toward uncertainty—offering a clearer view of how legitimacy and trust are constructed within public organizations.
Drawing on interviews and program monitoring sheets across eight ministries, the analysis highlights four factors that limit data quality and credibility: (1) combined program impacts, (2) uncertainties in GHG measurement, (3) the measurability of GHG reductions, and (4) bureaucratic and administrative complexity. The research also identifies four ministerial attitudes toward methodological uncertainty—metrological realism, internal legitimacy, external legitimacy, and metrological skepticism—illustrating diverse views on the credibility and usefulness of data used to assess climate performance. These dynamics complicate transparency, comparability, and consistency amid growing political pressure to demonstrate program effectiveness.
Practical implications for policymakers, climate program managers, and evaluators include developing methods to assess combined program effects – reducing both double-counting risk and underestimation tied to isolating individual program impacts. Strengthening collaboration between universities and governments can accelerate method development and improve understanding of actual GHG reductions. Departments should enhance horizontal coordination, streamline administrative approvals for programs and indicators, and widen evaluation beyond GHG metrics to include long-term outcomes (e.g., sustainable mobility). Finally, explicitly incorporating uncertainty into monitoring and reporting can improve accountability and support more effective climate policy.