João Santos

Technical University of Lisbon | UTL · Centre for the Environment and Maritime Technologies (MARETEC)

The benefits of energy efficiency are recognized in multiple socio-economic spheres. Still, the quantitative impact on macroeconomic performance is not fully understood, as modeling tools are not thermodynamically consistent—failing to explicitly include the useful stage of energy flows and/or thermodynamic efficiencies in primary–final–useful ener...

Conventional economic growth models treat production/consumption as abstractions linked only by money flows, disregarding their connection to the physical world. Nevertheless, the existing literature suggests that energy flows can influence production and links useful exergy prices with economic growth. Useful exergy is energy measured at the stage...

Energy return on investment (EROI) is a ratio of the energy obtained in relation to the energy used to extract/produce it. The EROI of fossil fuels is globally decreasing. What do the declining EROIs of energy sources imply for society as a whole? We answer this question by proposing a novel EROI measure that describes, through one parameter, the e...

A good understanding of the sources of economic growth is fundamental. Total factor productivity (TFP) – frequently taken as synonymous of technical change but computed as a residual – is credited as a major driver of growth. Despite considerable efforts, the sources of TFP growth are still poorly understood. As all economic processes necessarily e...

Development of energy policy is often informed by economic considerations via aggregate production functions (APFs). We identify a theory-to-policy process involving APFs comprised of six steps: (1) selecting a theoretical energy-economy framework; (2) formulating modeling approaches; (3) econometrically fitting an APF to historical economic and en...

Capital–labour–energy Constant Elasticity of Substitution (CES) production functions and their estimated parameters now form a key part of energy–economy models which inform energy and emissions policy. However, the collation and guidance as to the specification and estimation choices involved with such energy-extended CES functions is disparate. T...

This report presents the results from the project. MEET 2030 will result in scenarios for Portugal, but it is also a testament to an innovative process, which combines participatory scenario development with modelling and with the innovative concept of exergy and its link to GDP growth. In this sense, the outcomes of the project are the scenarios a...