Dr João Pedro Gouveia holds a PhD 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 created and leads a team working on energy-efficiency solutions & funding schemes, as well as energy-poverty mitigation (Firefly Energy Lab). He is the coordinator of the CHANGE - Global Change and Sustainability Institute thematic line on "Promoting a circular and carbon-neutral economy".
He is a lecturer at NOVA University of Lisbon (FCT, SBE, FCSH) in the fields of climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as sustainable and resilient cities. 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, since 2021, on the Coordination team of EPAH - EU Energy Poverty Advisory Hub for DG Energy of the European Commission, and by his former position on the Management Committee of the EU COST Action on Energy Poverty (ENGAGER) (2017-2020).
He supervises multiple PhD and MSc theses. He is a recognised international expert in his research area, serving as an advisor on seven EU projects and participating in various academic MSc and PhD juries. João has authored over 59 peer-reviewed articles in high-impact-factor international journals, with more than 4,300 citations (H-index of 32). He has also contributed to presentations at over 150 national and international conferences and events, serving as an invited speaker or keynote speaker 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 he is currently part of the board as vice president. Between 2018 and 2021, he served on the CENSE Management Board, with responsibility for the cross-cutting area of "Impact on Society and Technology Transfer." Since January 2025, he has been a member of the CENSE Management Board, responsible for Research and Scientific Production. He is one of the elected representatives of the Researchers on the Environmental Science and Engineering Department Council at FCT-NOVA (2020-...).
Before pursuing his PhD, he completed his master's degree in Environmental Engineering at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology, NOVA University of Lisbon, where he also earned his bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering Sciences.