Isabel Horta

Abstract
In recent decades, the concept of urban metabolism has been widely applied at different scales. This paper proposes an optimization model, based on Data Envelopment Analysis, for the evaluation and benchmarking of countries’ metabolism. The EU-28 countries are analyzed based on economic and environmental indicators, including the resources consumed (energy and materials) and environmental pressures (GHG emissions and waste) associated with the value-added from the economic activities. The empirical results produced a ranking of countries’ based on their metabolic performance underlying the creation of wealth, along with the targets for the countries with lower metabolic performance. This new metabolic approach is a contribution to the design of policies for the promotion of sustainable and resilient services. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020.

Abstract
This study approaches the internationalization-performance (I-P) relationship following an innovative strategy, using DEA to calculate a financial performance metric that considers several financial indicators. We then apply a truncated regression to evaluate the relationship between financial performance and internationalization for a sample of firms in the footwear Portuguese industry for the period 2010-2013, using several controls, while exploring potential non-linear effects. Results tend to support the conclusion that export participation leads to increased efficiency, eventually through the so-called learning effects. For our case, the relationship is U-shaped. So, beyond a certain level the degree of international engagement might compromise efficiency.

Abstract
This paper draws on an innovative methodological framework to assess the energy performance of a set of urban development alternatives, using the city of Porto (Portugal) as a case study. The methodology combines the advantages of a spatially-explicit analysis with the prediction accuracy of neural networks to estimate the energy demand (for space heating, space cooling and mobility) resulting from the physical configuration of urban areas. The urban alternatives under assessment reflect a number of development strategies taking place in different locations within the city. These correspond to well-known urban development approaches (infill development, consolidated development, modern development, multi-family housing, transit-oriented development and green infrastructure). The results for the city of Porto show that the transit-oriented development, the urban infill and the consolidated development are the urban alternatives yielding the most relevant energy savings, especially regarding mobility needs. This study makes evident that planning for more efficient urban forms potentially brings about more efficient urban settings and reinforces the relevance of ex ante appraisals of urban projects and plans.

Abstract
Urban metabolism accounts of total annual energy, water, and other resource flows are increasingly available for a variety of world cities. For local decision makers, however, it may be important to understand the variations of resource consumption within the city. Given the difficulty of gathering suburban resource consumption data for many cities, this article investigates the potential of statistical downscaling methods to estimate local resource consumption using socioeconomic or other data sources. We evaluate six classes of downscaling methods: ratio-based normalization; linear regression (both internally and externally calibrated); linear regression with spatial autocorrelation; multilevel linear regression; and a basic Bayesian analysis. The methods were applied to domestic energy consumption in London, UK, and our results show that it is possible to downscale aggregate resource consumption to smaller geographies with an average absolute prediction error of around 20%; however, performance varies widely by method, geography size, and fuel type. We also show how mapping these results can quickly identify districts with noteworthy resource consumption profiles. Further work should explore the design of local data collection strategies to enhance these methods and apply the techniques to other urban resources such as water or waste.

Abstract
Local actions are seen as of major importance for the achievement of climate change mitigation targets. In the past few years, the number of local action plans towards climate change mitigation has been increasing, and it is essential to analyze their contribution to the achievement of global targets. Even if the relationship between local action plans and the reduction of energy use and GHG emissions is often assumed, this has not yet been validated nor quantified by empirical studies involving a large number of municipalities. Thus, the aim of this paper is to. perform an empirical analysis on the link between local action plans and energy use and GHG emissions. The analysis is composed by a test of hypothesis and a regression analysis, performed for the municipalities of three European countries Portugal, Sweden and United Kingdom. The main conclusion is that, in the context of these three countries, the analysis performed was not able to detect a significant impact related to the existence of local plans on GHG emissions. From the panel data regression analysis, it was possible to confirm that external factors, not directly related to local climate change mitigation actions, have a significant impact on GHG emissions.