Dirk Pilat
pilatd.bsky.social
Dirk Pilat
@pilatd.bsky.social

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

Economics 56%
Business 21%
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.

They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
A new feature on Elon Musk’s X has given surprising new insight into the online “America First” movement.
Top MAGA Influencers Accidentally Unmasked as Foreign Actors
A new feature on Elon Musk’s X has given deeper insight into the online “America First” movement.
trib.al

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

Dear media of the world,
When an autocrat admiring the aggressor sits with the aggressor and together they write up the terms on which the victim should surrender, it's not a peace plan/proposal, much less a peace deal.
Stop parroting the autocrat!

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

How Steve Witkoff pushed Ukraine sympathizers out of White House, and led US into Russia's arms
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is running a shadow operation inside the White House in an effort to sideline pro-Ukraine officials, the Kyiv Independent has learned. Witkoff — a r...
How Steve Witkoff pushed Ukraine sympathizers out of White House, and led US into Russia's arms
kyivindependent.com

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

European leaders responded to the 28-point peace plan and unanimously reaffirmed their support for Ukraine.
Any peace plan must be fair and sustainable — made with Ukraine and for Ukraine.

Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.
#StandWithUkraine🧵

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

❗️RETWEET if you stand with President 🇺🇦Zelensky!
Today on Volts: the subset of cleantech known as "electrotech" -- solar, batteries, heat pumps, etc. -- is marching toward inevitable victory, not because it's low-emissions (though it is), but because it's more efficient & cheaper. I discuss the good news with @kingsmillbond.bsky.social.
Clean electrification is inevitable
Kingsmill Bond explains why the global march of "electrotech" has moved beyond the reach of US political interference.
www.volts.wtf
NEW: It’s takes a moment for this to really sink in.

Guardian reporting that key parts of Trump’s peace plan was drafted IN RUSSIAN first.

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

From Witkoff’s brilliant peace plan for Ukraine: “It is expected that Russia will not invade neighbouring countries”

on.ft.com/4oc3z4r
Read the full text of Trump’s 28-point Ukraine-Russia peace plan
Proposed deal would limit size of Ukrainian forces and calls on Kyiv to withdraw troops from eastern Donetsk
on.ft.com
"The obstacles to limiting warming to below ever-more-dangerous levels remain political, rather than physical or technological."

But it won't be done with CO₂ removal (CDR) technologies because the obstacles to scaling CDR are political, social, financial, physical, and technological.
Bill Gates’s climate comments are a dangerous distraction
People do not have to dismiss or exaggerate the climate threat to justify concerted action.
go.nature.com
Elon Musk is set to make more than every U.S. elementary teacher combined www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i...
a cartoon dog is sitting at a table in front of a fire with the words it 's fine everything is fine
ALT: a cartoon dog is sitting at a table in front of a fire with the words it 's fine everything is fine
media.tenor.com
⚡️ Update: Poland says 'everything indicates' Russia behind railway sabotage incident.

"Russian services want to disrupt our society, to scare us," Polish security service spokesperson Jacek Dobrzynski said.
'Act of sabotage' — Explosion hits Polish railway track used for Ukraine aid shipments, Warsaw says
"We will catch the perpetrators, whoever they are," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, noting that the route was "crucially important for delivering aid to Ukraine."
kyivindependent.com

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

Wetlands and wildlife in the Netherlands: slowing down and connecting with nature in Friesland
Wetlands and wildlife in the Netherlands: slowing down and connecting with nature in Friesland
The cosy cabins, bike rides and serenity of De Alde Feanen national park make it the perfect place to switch off and unwind in winter
www.theguardian.com

German taxpayers are handing BMW €273m to once again attempt to push hydrogen-powered cars, when battery prices have once again dropped >50% in the past ~18 month and CATL is on its 5th-gen LFP battery.

CATL, BYD et al must be laughing all the way to the bank.

Sigh.

www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/w...
Wasserstoff-Autos: BMW erhält staatliche Förderung zur Entwicklung
Hat der Einsatz von Wasserstoff eine Zukunft bei der Autoentwicklung? BMW glaubt nach wie vor daran. Jetzt erhält der Konzern eine staatliche Förderung für die Weiterentwicklung der Technologie.
www.spiegel.de
Búzios Scientific Statement

100 climate researchers, coordinated by @pik-potsdam.bsky.social & @iiasa.ac.at, released a joint statement to inform the #COP30 negotiations and provide guidance on difficult but doable global efforts designed to limit dangerous overshoot of 1.5°C as much as possible.
Búzios Scientific Statement.pdf
drive.google.com

Reposted by Dirk Pilat

“If we wait to cross tipping points before we act, it will be too late. The only credible risk management strategy is to act in advance.”
global-tipping-points.org/the-dartingt...
The Dartington Declaration - Global Tipping Points
The Dartington Declaration has emanated from scientific meetings held at Dartington Hall in England, and then a statement agreed at the Global Tipping Points Conference, on 30 June – 3 July 2025. It w...
global-tipping-points.org
China uses a wide array of industrial policies, eg subsidies, regulations, to promote strategic economic sectors. This column estimates that the equivalent fiscal cost of industrial policy is about 4% of GDP per year, with support directed largely at the manufacturing sector
cepr.org/voxeu/column...
The hidden costs of China’s industrial policy
China uses a wide array of industrial policies, such as subsidies and regulations, to promote strategic economic sectors. This column estimates that the equivalent fiscal cost of industrial policy is about 4% of GDP per year, with support directed largely at the manufacturing sector. Different policy instruments have varying effects: subsidies tend to lead to inefficiently high production, while trade and regulatory barriers limit production to suboptimal levels. Overall, factor misallocation from industrial policies reduces domestic aggregate total factor productivity by about 1.2%. Scaling back industrial policy would lower fiscal costs and raise productivity.
cepr.org
In the global electrification race China is marching ahead.

The US and Europe risk falling behind clinging on to yesterday's technologies.
Climate breakdown is driven by a storm of lies. This lying is systemic, funded and coordinated, and operates across almost all media, old and new.
This week's column argues that we cannot fight the climate crisis without also fighting the epistemic crisis.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Dark forces are preventing us fighting the climate crisis – by taking knowledge hostage | George Monbiot
The fundamental problem is this: that most of the means of communication are owned or influenced by the very rich, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com