LightNews
pilatd.bsky.social
Dirk Pilat
@pilatd.bsky.social
580 followers 890 following 4 posts

Economist focused on productivity, innovation & green transition. Formerly OECD, now associated with IVIE, Valencia & TPI, Manchester. Views are my own.

Videos
Economics 56%
Business 21%
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

nrc.nl
NRC @nrc.nl · 15h
Europeanen tegen elkaar opzetten, internationaal recht uithollen, luchtverkeer ontregelen: het zijn voorbeelden van hoe sluw en systematisch Rusland opereert. Het wordt tijd dat Europese politici een krachtiger respons formuleren, schrijft columnist Caroline de Gruyter.
buff.ly/zJTGcLo
Column | Europa reageert veel te mak op hybride sabotage van Rusland
In Europa: Caroline de Gruyter
buff.ly
1 21 48

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

janrosenow.bsky.social
Jan Rosenow @janrosenow.bsky.social · 15h
NEW ANALYSIS: More than 80% of UK social housing still relies on gas boilers keeping bills exposed to international gas markets and climate targets out of reach.

I’ve explored how other European countries are tackling this at scale, and what the UK can learn.

www.sureserve.co.uk/news-and-pro...
Phasing out gas in European social housing - what the UK can learn
www.sureserve.co.uk
11 60 160

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

frankkumli.bsky.social
Frank Kumli @frankkumli.bsky.social · 19h
Growth!

#Science, #tech & #innovation fuel green progress. From solar to EVs, STI drives change. Let’s measure it better.

Dive into the @oecdinnovation.bsky.social report:

www.linkedin.com/posts/kumli_...
1

Reposted by Nandita Sharma, Jonathan A. Eisen, Robbert Sanderman , and 15 more

cmgiulini.bsky.social
Lynn Becker @cmgiulini.bsky.social · 20h
After spending 43 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, evidence hidden by the prosecution reversed his conviction. Rather than finally enjoying freedom, ICE abducted him for deportation

Depraved.

www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...
He was wrongfully imprisoned for 43 years. Moments after being released, ICE took him
Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam now faces deportation.
www.miamiherald.com
630 7.1K 14K

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

grist.org
Grist @grist.org · 2d
As Trump champions fossil fuels, the world is betting on renewable energy.

Despite a U.S. retreat, solar and wind are overtaking fossil fuels globally, according to two new reports.

grist.org/internationa...

#Renewables #Energy #Climate #Solar #Wind #Batteries
As Trump champions fossil fuels, the world is betting on renewable energy
Despite a U.S. retreat, solar and wind are overtaking fossil fuels globally, according to two reports published this week.
grist.org
4 52 130

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

janrosenow.bsky.social
Jan Rosenow @janrosenow.bsky.social · 3d
Two graphs in today’s FT.

Notice the UK’s position on both graphs.
8 44 120

Reposted by Olivier Honnay, Wolfgang Crämer, Dirk Pilat , and 4 more

transportenvironment.org
T&E @transportenvironment.org · 3d
NEW: Biofuels globally emit more than the fossil fuels they replace, our latest study shows.

The first-of-a-kind study looks at global biofuels production today and the potential impacts of government biofuel targets.
🧵⤵️
9 240 410

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

politico.eu
POLITICO Europe @politico.eu · 4d
The EU says it has a new problem when it comes to artificial intelligence: Companies are not using it.

But Brussels is looking to solve this.
European businesses barely use AI. Brussels wants to fix that.
Commission to warn Europe’s slow embrace of artificial intelligence risks squandering economic growth.
ow.ly
8 11 18

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

fieseler.bsky.social
Clare Fieseler, PhD @fieseler.bsky.social · 5d
Not sure people realize how INSANELY DRAINING data centers will be on our planet.

If you imagine data centers as their own country, they'll rank fourth in global electricity use by 2035 — outranked only by China, India, and the U.S.

Read this in @bloomberg.com👇

www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
AI Data Centers Are Sending Power Bills Soaring
Wholesale electricity costs as much as 267% more than it did five years ago in areas near data centers. That’s being passed on to customers.
www.bloomberg.com
13 130 190

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

ketanjoshi.co
Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 5d
There's a very nice new report from @climateanalytics.org on precisely this: "Hard to abate" has become its own form of subtle climate delay --->>

@billhare.bsky.social @cindybax.bsky.social

ca1-clm.edcdn.com/assets/Clima...
Conclusion The persistent classification of iron and steel and cement as “hard-to-abate” sectors has shaped both policy and industrial responses in ways that risk undermining the urgency and effectiveness of global climate mitigation efforts. While the technical and process-related challenges in these sectors are non-trivial, the evidence presented in this report demonstrates that their decarbonisation is not only possible but highly achievable with existing and emerging technologies—especially when guided by integrated, whole-of-system approaches and supported by robust policy frameworks. A narrow focus on production-side constraints—such as process emissions in clinker production or the fossil fuel dependence of BF-BOF steelmaking—has encouraged decarbonization strategies put forward by the industry to rely heavily on CCUS and offsetting as core mitigation strategies. This framing assumes that a substantial portion of sectoral emissions are unavoidable, which justifies delayed action and continued operation of high-emissions infrastructure. However, our analysis shows that much of what is labelled “residual” or “unavoidable” emissions can, in fact, be abated at source through a combination of clean technology deployment, material efficiency, and demand-side reductions. In the iron and steel sector, commercially available technologies—particularly electric arc furnaces (EAFs) coupled with high scrap availability and direct reduced iron (DRI) using green hydrogen—can replace the BF-BOF pathway. While steel production capacity is long-lived and capital-intensive, studies show that aligning investment timelines with early retrofit and decommissioning schedules could reduce cumulative emissions by up to 66% over 2020–2050, compared to just 47% if low-carbon measures are delayed by five years.
24 60

Reposted by Dirk Pilat, Dana R. Fisher, Mark Rice

adamvaughan.bsky.social
Adam Vaughan @adamvaughan.bsky.social · 5d
Renewables have overtaken coal in the global electricity mix for the first time, @ember-energy.org has found
www.linkedin.com/pulse/renewa...
2 26 93

Reposted by Dirk Pilat, Nicolai von Ondarza

financialtimes.com
Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 5d
New data shows the ways millions of people have integrated AI into their everyday lives. Also, it suggests that for now at least, AI is an individual productivity tool — both at work and in our personal lives — rather than the broader workplace disrupter many in Big Tech predicted. on.ft.com/47cKBVN
10 15 34

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

tonytassell.bsky.social
Tony Tassell @tonytassell.bsky.social · 6d
America is now one big bet on AI - Ruchir Sharma column here. "The hundreds of billions of dollars companies are investing in AI now account for an astonishing 40 per cent share of US GDP growth this year" www.ft.com/content/6cc8...
America is now one big bet on AI
It’s seen as the magic fix for every threat to the US economy
www.ft.com
2 2 8

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

sustainable2050.bsky.social
Kees van der Leun @sustainable2050.bsky.social · 6d
It's the main news on two Dutch newspapers today. The largest demo of this century in the Netherlands. For Gaza, and against government's complicity in Israel's genocide there.
Headlines in Trouw (250,000) and NRC (Quarter of a million protesters in Amsterdam), with photos of the massive march.
13 31

Reposted by Cas Mudde, Nandita Sharma, Simon L. Lewis , and 12 more

newseye.bsky.social
News Eye @newseye.bsky.social · 7d
NEW: Extraordinary scenes in Amsterdam this afternoon (Sunday, Oct 5).

An estimated 250,000 bring the city to a standstill; people all wearing red to show solidarity with Palestine 🇵🇸

(🎥 Ahmed Zantac)
250 4.3K 11K

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

sustainable2050.bsky.social
Kees van der Leun @sustainable2050.bsky.social · 7d
78% of the Dutch is now negative about Israel, mostly very negative.
19% is positive, mostly 'somewhat' positive.

(neutral/ don't know not included)
Bar graph showing that all European countries included are negative, but the Netherlands most of all.
5 11 28

Reposted by Tobias Kuemmerle, Dirk Pilat, Guy Pe’er

globalecoguy.bsky.social
Dr. Jonathan Foley @globalecoguy.bsky.social · 8d
Food must be taken seriously as an environmental problem.

It uses ~38% of Earth’s land, drives ~70% of water use, and emits ~22-34% of greenhouse gas pollution globally.

And beef and dairy alone drive a huge proportion of this.

But there are solutions. Lots of them.

go.ted.com/jonathanfoley24
The problem with food and climate — and how to fix it
Global food production — from meat to grains — accounts for a third of all greenhouse gas emissions, says sustainability scientist Jonathan Foley. He presents a portfolio of data-backed solutions to b...
go.ted.com
3 31 97

Reposted by Michael Wagner, Dirk Pilat

globalecoguy.bsky.social
Dr. Jonathan Foley @globalecoguy.bsky.social · 8d
Food causes 22-34% of climate change.
But it only gets 4% of the media coverage.

Why? Neglect. Misunderstanding. And a hell of a lot of greenwashing.
sentientmedia.org
Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 9d
“Emissions from food are still very underreported,” @jennysplitter.bsky.social, Sentient's editor-in-chief, tells Anay Mridul of Green Queen. Learn more about our analysis of 11 major U.S. outlets:
Less Than 4% of US Media Climate Coverage Mentions Meat & Dairy's Emissions Toll: New Analysis
An analysis of hundreds of online articles from US media shows that less than 4% mention and contextualise the role of meat in climate change. Here's why.
buff.ly
6 45 140

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

noelreports.com
NOELREPORTS @noelreports.com · 9d
Denmark's military intelligence reports that Russian naval forces have aimed weapons at Danish warships and helicopters, disrupted navigation systems in key maritime straits, and even sailed collision courses, all clear provocations.
41 220 740

Reposted by Dirk Pilat, Christian E. Weller, Greg Linden

carlquintanilla.bsky.social
Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 9d
“.. His conclusion is very stark: not just that an economy already at stall speed will fall into recession as both the data-center and wealth effects plateau, but that they’ll reverse, just as in the dot-com bubble did ..”

@marketwatch.com
www.marketwatch.com/story/the-ai...
96 830 2.4K

Reposted by Lionel Page, Dirk Pilat, Eric Kaufmann , and 3 more

Reposted by Dirk Pilat, Martin Tomko, William Myers

anneapplebaum.bsky.social
Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.bsky.social · 13d
exactly like the Chinese surveillance state
robertscotthorton.bsky.social
Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 14d
Larry Ellison envisions a surveillance state in which techbros rule. '“Citizens will be on their best behavior, because we’re constantly recording and reporting everything that is going on,” Ellison said in an hour-long Q&A during Oracle’s Financial Analyst Meeting last week.'
Larry Ellison predicts rise of the modern surveillance state where ‘citizens will be on their best behavior’ | Fortune
Oracle's Larry Ellison believes citizens and police alike will be under constant surveillance of each other.
fortune.com
140 500 1.4K

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

Reposted by Steve Peers, Dirk Pilat, Alison Phipps , and 5 more

tanjabueltmann.net
Tanja Bueltmann @tanjabueltmann.net · 13d
When I was a teenager there was a bus direct from my hometown in Germany to London - we had a British army base, and this direct bus connection was one of the benefits of that. One summer I went on that bus to go volunteer in an old people's home in Southend-on-Sea. I had just turned 18 and was... 🧵
21 390 850

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

Reposted by Dirk Pilat, Paul Nightingale

ivodaalder.bsky.social
Ivo Daalder @ivodaalder.bsky.social · 14d
How serious is the Russian threat to ? Even after Ukraine, differences on this question persist within the alliance. The biggest change is that the United States has joined the cautious camp, and is no longer willing to beat when you’re threatened. My take. observer.co.uk/news/interna...
How serious is the Russian threat to Europe? | The Observer
With Washington unwilling to offer leadership, European Nato allies can’t afford to let their guard down
observer.co.uk
8 8

Reposted by John Drury, Dirk Pilat, Christina Pagel

sheencr.bsky.social
Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 14d
Frightening analysis of the use of Facebook and radicalisation of people to far right beliefs. This also reminds me of analysis of social media networks in enhanced exposure of anti vaccine rhetoric.
Inside the everyday Facebook networks where far-right ideas grow
The Guardian spent a year studying an online community trading in anti-immigration sentiment and misinformation. Experts say such spaces can play a role in radicalisation
www.theguardian.com
8 54 94

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

Reposted by Tobias Kuemmerle, Dirk Pilat, Stephen Ryan

profbillmcguire.bsky.social
Prof Bill McGuire @profbillmcguire.bsky.social · 15d
"Today, we clear a soccer field’s worth of tropical forest every six seconds, a loss dramatically worsened by humanity’s growing hunger for meat"

Wean ourselves off meat now, or the switch to a Pliocene climate that's locked in will do it for us

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Meat is a leading emissions source – but few outlets report on it, analysis finds
Sentient Media reveals less than 4% of climate news stories mention animal agriculture as source of carbon emissions
www.theguardian.com
18 160 320