João Pedro Gouveia

Lab Leader at NOVA University of Lisbon



Dr. João Pedro Gouveia holds a Ph.D. in Climate Change and Sustainable Development Policies from NOVA School of Science and Technology of NOVA University of Lisbon (FCT-NOVA, PT). He is a Principal Researcher and Integrated Member at the Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research (CENSE). At CENSE, he currently manages a team of over 40 persons working on energy efficiency solutions & funding schemes, and energy poverty mitigation. He is the coordinator of the CHANGE - Global Change and Sustainability Institute thematic line on "Promoting a circular and carbon neutral economy". He created and leads the Firefly Energy lab.
He is a lecturer at FCT-NOVA University of Lisbon on climate change mitigation and adaptation, and sustainable urban planning and at ISEC Lisboa - Higher Institute of Education and Sciences. He is one of the founders of Regenerative Intelligence (RegenIntel), a global advisory consultancy based in the US.
Dr. Gouveia's expertise extends beyond academia, as he is the principal investigator of multiple national and international projects, policy support studies, and consultancy work on buildings, energy efficiency, energy poverty, sustainable cities, and climate change. His practical application of research is further evidenced by his role in the Coordination team of EPAH - EU Energy Poverty Advisory Hub for DG Energy of the European Commission, and his former position on the Management Committee of EU COST Action on Energy Poverty (ENGAGER) (2017-2022).
He supervises multiple PhD and MSc thesis. He is a recognized international expert in his research area, having an advisory role on 7 EU projects and participating in various academic MSc and PhD juries. João has authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles in high-impact factor international journals with over 3500 citations (H-index of 27) and has contributed to presentations at over 150 national and international conferences and events, from which he has been an invited speaker/keynote to more than 100.
He is a member of the editorial board of Discover Global Society (Springer Nature), PLOS Climate and an Associate Editor of Frontiers in Sustainable Cities.
He was a Senior Research Fellow for energy systems at Project Drawdown (USA) (2016-2020), founder and former Board Member of DERA - Drawdown Europe Research Association (2019-2022) and APEEN - Portuguese Association for Energy Economics (2015) where is currently part of the board. Between 2018 and 2021, he was part of the CENSE Management Board, where he was responsible for the cross-cutting area of "Impact on Society and Technology Transfer." He is one of the elected representatives of the Researchers on the Environmental Science and Engineering Department Council at FCT-NOVA (2020-...).
Before his Ph.D., he completed his master's degree in Environmental Engineering from the Faculty of Sciences and Technology at NOVA University of Lisbon, where he also completed his bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering.


Scientific Publications

Scientific Publications


Scientific Publications

Books and Book Chapters

International

LOCal Authorities to Tackle Energy povErty in private multi-apartment buildings (LOCATEE) [LIFE] [2024-2027]

LOCATEE's overarching goal is to support local municipalities in addressing energy poverty through the renovation of private multiapartment buildings for vulnerable residents.

International

HORIS - Home Renovation Integrated Services (LIFE) [2023-2026]

A digital OSS empowering homeowners renovating to choose the right professionals and navigate a complex financial process

International

ENTRACK Empowering local and regional authorities to design clean Energy TRAnsition plans through Capacity and Knowledge (LIFE) [2023-2026]

Empowering local and regional authorities is pivotal in achieving the EU's ambitious climate neutrality goals by 2050. The #ENTRACK project recognizes the challenges faced by local policymakers, especially in rural areas, where a lack of knowledge and technical capacity often hinders socially just energy planning.

International

SHELTER- Sustainable Habitability and Energy for Living and Teleworking: making Environments more Resilient [2025-2026]

The aim is to delve into the new challenges of housing and built environments concerning domestic energy use and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) that affect the population in inequity, vulnerability, health, and well-being. Specifically, daily tasks from living and newer ones, such as teleworking, boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic, are explored to determine their environmental, social, and economic impacts. This study has an exploratory nature, so two approaches are applied: 1) quantitative: we will analyze surveys, sharing previous and ongoing project insights from regions and other data-based analyses; 2) qualitative, we will explore individual/collective experiences from other techniques (interviews, focus groups, community sessions), using photos, either taken by participants (Photovoice technique or similar), or by Generative Artificial Intelligence (photo-elicitation). A mixed approach and transdisciplinary work contribute to shifts toward societal and environmental enhancement in the Climate Change context following SDGs.

International

RIPEBA - Red Iberoamericana de pobreza energética y bienestar ambiental (722RT0135) [2024-2025]

João Pedro Gouveia part of the RIPEBA network - Red iberoamericana de pobreza energética y bienestar ambiental since 2024.

International

VENUS Network - LA VULNERABILIDAD ENERGÉTICA DE HOGARES IBEROAMERICANOS, EN EL CONTEXTO DE CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO. Detección, capacitación y alivio entre la comunidad universitaria [2024-2025]

RED VENUS - LA VULNERABILIDAD ENERGÉTICA DE HOGARES IBEROAMERICANOS, EN EL CONTEXTO DE CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO. Detección, capacitación y alivio entre la comunidad universitaria (VEnUS)

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December 01, 2022 Magazine
Transition Point - An Innovative Proximity Approach to Fighting Energy Poverty
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December 01, 2022 Podcast
Podcast Azul: stop being cold at home would involve “the renewal of a country”
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November 30, 2022 TV
"Dark winter ahead" unfolded on this news piece on Portuguese national TV
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November 28, 2022 Online
ADENE interviews João Pedro Gouveia
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November 25, 2022 TV
Interview João Pedro Gouveia in "Portugal: Saving heating costs in winter"
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November 16, 2022 Newspaper
Portugueses facing the energy crisis.
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