
Helga Weisz' research focus is on the socially organized extraction of raw materials and energy, its transformation into goods and services, its use and final disposal to the environment as waste, emissions and heat, which, collectively, define the social metabolism.
Main research areas are material and energy flow analysis, stocks and flows dynamic of the built environment, physical and environmental input-output analysis, society-nature co-evolution, socio-ecological theory, industrial and urban metabolism, integrated vulnerability assessment and the application of complex network analysis to social metabolism.
Selected publications
Chen, S., Chen, B., Feng, K., Liu, Z., Fromer, N., Tan, X., Alsaedi, A., Hayat, T., Weisz, H., Schellnhuber, H. J., & Hubacek, K. (2020). Physical and virtual carbon metabolism of global cities. Nature Communications, 11(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13757-3
Redlingshöfer, B., Barles, S., & Weisz, H. (2020). Are waste hierarchies effective in reducing environmental impacts from food waste? A systematic review for OECD countries. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 156, 104723. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104723
Pichler, P.-P., Jaccard, I. S., Weisz, U., & Weisz, H. (2019). International comparison of health care carbon footprints. Environmental Research Letters, 14(6), 064004. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab19e1
Shan, Y., Guan, D., Hubacek, K., Zheng, B., Davis, S. J., Jia, L., Liu, J., Liu, Z., Fromer, N., Mi, Z., Meng, J., Deng, X., Li, Y., Lin, J., Schroeder, H., Weisz, H., & Schellnhuber, H. J. (2018). City-level climate change mitigation in China. Science Advances, 4(6), eaaq0390. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaq0390
Bringezu, S., Ramaswami, A., Schandl, H., O’Brien, M., Pelton, R., Acquatella, J., Ayuk, E. T., Chiu, A. S. F., Flanegin, R., Fry, J., Giljum, S., Hashimoto, S., Hellweg, S., Hosking, K., Hu, Y., Lenzen, M., Lieber, M., Lutter, S., Miatto, A., … Zivy, R. (2018). Assessing global resource use : a systems approach to resource efficiency and pollution reduction (p. 99). United Nations Environment Programme. http://www.resourcepanel.org/sites/default/files/documents/document/media/assessing_global_resource_use_amended_130318.pdf
Pichler, P.-P., Zwickel, T., Chavez, A., Kretschmer, T., Seddon, J., & Weisz, H. (2017). Reducing Urban Greenhouse Gas Footprints. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 14659. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-15303-x
Lenton, T. M., Pichler, P.-P., & Weisz, H. (2016). Revolutions in energy input and material cycling in Earth history and human history. Earth Syst. Dynam., 7(2), 353–370. https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-7-353-2016
Weisz, H., Suh, S., & Graedel, T. E. (2015). Industrial Ecology: The role of manufactured capital in sustainability. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(20), 6260–6264. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1506532112
Krausmann, F., Weisz, H., Eisenmenger, N., Schütz, H., Haas, W., & Schaffartzik, A. (2015). Economy-wide Material Flow Accounting Introduction and Guide (Social Ecology Working Papers). Institute of Social Ecology. http://www.uni-klu.ac.at/socec/eng/downloads/WP_151_MFA_guide_final_26_02_2015_(2).pdf
Schaffartzik, A., Eisenmenger, N., Krausmann, F., & Weisz, H. (2014). Consumption-based Material Flow Accounting. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 18(1), 102–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12055
Minx, J., Baiocchi, G., Wiedmann, T., Barrett, J., Creutzig, F., Feng, K., Förster, M., Pichler, P.-P., Weisz, H., & Hubacek, K. (2013). Carbon footprints of cities and other human settlements in the UK. Environmental Research Letters, 8(3), 035039. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035039
Grubler, A., Bai, X., Buettner, T., Dhakal, S., Fisk, D. J., Ichinose, T., Keirstead, J. E., Sammer, G., Satterthwaite, D., Schulz, N. B., Shah, N., Steinberger, J., & Weisz, H. (2012). Chapter 18 - Urban Energy Systems. In Global Energy Assessment - Toward a Sustainable Future (pp. 1307–1400).
Weisz, H. (2011). The probability of the improbable: society–nature coevolution. Geografiska Annaler: Series B: Human Geography, 93(4), 1–12.
Fischer‐Kowalski, M., Krausmann, F., Giljum, S., Lutter, S., Mayer, A., Bringezu, S., Moriguchi, Y., Schütz, H., Schandl, H., & Weisz, H. (2011). Methodology and Indicators of Economy-wide Material Flow Accounting. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 15(6), 855–876. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-9290.2011.00366.x
Weisz, H., & Steinberger, J. K. (2010). Reducing energy and material flows in cities. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 2(3), 185–192. https://doi.org/doi: 10.1016/j.cosust.2010.05.010
Weisz, H., & Schandl, H. (2008). Materials Use Across World Regions. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 12(5–6), 629–636. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-9290.2008.00097.x
Haberl, H., Weisz, H., Amann, C., Bondeau, A., Eisenmenger, N., Erb, K.-H., Fischer‐Kowalski, M., & Krausmann, F. (2006). The Energetic Metabolism of the European Union and the United States: Decadal Energy Input Time-Series with an Emphasis on Biomass. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 10(4), 151–171. https://doi.org/10.1162/jiec.2006.10.4.151
Weisz, H., & Duchin, F. (2006). Physical and monetary input–output analysis: What makes the difference? Ecological Economics, 57(3), 534–541. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2005.05.011
Weisz, H., Krausmann, F., Amann, C., Eisenmenger, N., Erb, K.-H., Hubacek, K., & Fischer-Kowalski, M. (2006). The physical economy of the European Union: Cross-country comparison and determinants of material consumption. Ecological Economics, 58(4), 676–698. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2005.08.016
Matthews, E., Amann, C., Bringezu, S., Fischer-Kowalski, M., Hüttler, W., Kleijn, R., Moriguchi, Y., Ottke, C., Rodenburg, E., Rogich, D., Schandl, H., Schütz, H., van der Voet, E., & Weisz, H. (2000). The Weight of Nations. Material Outflows from Industrial Economies. World Resources Institute.