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Olivier Beys

@olivierbeys.bsky.social

880 followers 460 following 410 posts

Works at EU Parliament on circular economy and green industry transition | Founder of Tournevie tool library | Fond of commons projects and Brussels | www.tournevie.be

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Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · Nov 23

Four simple steps on how to argue intelligently and how to criticize with kindness, by the inimitable Daniel Dennett.
It's an invaluable little gem I cannot recommend enough for anyone making an argument on online plaforms.
brainpickings.org/2014/03/28/d...

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Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · 10h

Thanks to everyone who joined 😊

Tournevie @tournevie.bsky.social · 10h

Throwback to the great party two weeks ago to celebrate our 10 year anniverary, onto the next 10 ! 🎉🥳

Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · 14h

Funny thing is that he’s saying these things while completely oblivious to the fact that many other people perceive his very own clothing and lifestyle choices as outlandish and ridiculous.

Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · 2d

Powerful call to demand accountability. While international and EU institutions have not moved to stop the genocide on Palestinians by Israel (the latter even facilitated!), we should not get them get away with impunity. euobserver.com/eu-and-the-w...

Ceasefire, yes. Now what about accountability for Israel's genocide?

This much-needed and welcomed ceasefire does not change the simple fact that Israel has just committed a genocide in Gaza. We got so much used to this term now, that the 'G' word became almost normal....

euobserver.com

Reposted by Olivier Beys

Ariel Brunner @arielbrunner.bsky.social · 2d

Dedicating just 3% of the land currently used for biofuels to solar power would produce the same amount of energy - and enough to power one third of the global car fleet, if it were electric.

Those that argue against in field solar are barking up the wrong tree (good planning & design still needed)

T&E @transportenvironment.org · 2d

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.
🧵⤵️

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Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · 2d

Hallucinant waar we inmiddels staan en wat we beleidsmatig en maatschappelijk laten passeren of zelfs faciliteren. Wie herkent ons land en Europa nog als een plek waar net die fundamentele waarden en rechten, waarover we zo trots zijn, en ons aller menselijkheid gewaarborgd worden? Gitzwarte tijden.

Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · 3d

Meanwhile EPP are desperately trying to twist the arm of Commission to have them buy into the climate benefits of biofuels (a request for co-signatures by Singer sent out today, by way of example), a claim so ludicrous it boggles the mind. They’re so blinded they cannot even read the room.

Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · 3d

Te preciseren: rechterkant van het Europarlement (dat tegenwoordig helaas in de meerderheid is). En dit mediatieke element maskeert trouwens veel erger hakwerk in vergroeningsmaatregelen van landbouwsubsidies; maar daarover lezen we weinig…

Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · 3d

Has anyone with a shred of sanity ever considered Trump’s inane and incoherent ramblings as clever diplomacy? His lack of predictability is not strategic ambiguity, it’s a smokescreen for grift, incompetence and self-interest.

Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · 3d

The leitmotiv in the EU bubble is that industry including the chemicals sector is in a crisis and environmental rules should be slashed and burned. But given record exports, where is that crisis exactly? 🤔 ec.europa.eu/eurostat/en/...

EU exports of chemicals reach a new record high

In 2024, EU exports of chemicals and related products to non-EU countries rose to €560 billion, a new record high. This was an increase of 7% compared with 2023 (€523 billion). The value of imports f...

ec.europa.eu

Reposted by Olivier Beys

Right to Repair Europe @r2reurope.bsky.social · 3d

🚨 1 week left until @microsoft.com ends free, automatic support for #Windows10, resulting in around 400 million PCs being unable to upgrade.

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Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · 4d

Well, didn’t I say an occasional flight is okay? The immediate gains are to be found in reducing flights of wealthy frequent flyers who do it because they can, better infra etc of course very much pro, but as recent examples in Europe show, is hard to pull off in short run in our current context.

Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · 5d

Some say utopian thinking is dangerous, but remember that More’s original Utopia was an imaginary world that had rid itself of huge inequality: that’s a positive outlook, and deserves praise for inspiring us. Below some good points on the importance of creative and utopian thinking 👇

Dr. Aaron Thierry @thierryaaron.bsky.social · 5d

Has anyone else been dealing with some serious headline whiplash recently?

Even for those of us who follow #climate and #energy matters closely, it can be hard to know what the hell is going on!

So here's a thread to help climate communicators get a grip on how to deal with this 🧵

Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · 5d

Spot on. Deep down they are techno-solutionist quasi libertarians, so it comes as no big surprise. More broadly, this piece also raises this obsession with the US in its criticism of the Draghi bible. euobserver.com/eu-political...

Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · 5d

In that case, it's not quite clear and would be nice hear where you are actually coming from.

Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · 5d

Actually priviliged people who fly around all the time underestimate how much they fly compared to most others. In fact you could have everyone take a flight a year and reduce substantially the amount of total flights. The target here are the frequent flyers, not regular people.

Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · 5d

Hmm don’t agree. It’s what most people have done in the past and even today, in countries like France, the majority of people don’t fly and mostly go to campings or holiday resorts in their own country or neighbouring ones à la limite.

Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · 5d

Slow travel is great! Less stress, more time to read, play, relax… and it frees us from the internalized need to ‘move fast enough be busy at all times’ 🎈

Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · 5d

Highly revealing analysis by @davekeating.substack.com on why Von der Leyen is facing more no-confidence votes. This quote illustrates what needs to change: “While she bullies in the Berlaymont, she allows herself to be bullied by Europe’s short-sighted national leaders and the world’s strongmen”

Internationale Politik Quarterly @ipq.bsky.social · 9d

As part of our five-year anniversary, today we launched Close-Up, a profile series.

Up first: @davekeating.substack.com on Ursula von der Leyen, the notoriously controlling European Commission president, a year into her second term.

ip-quarterly.com/en/ursula-vo...

Ursula von der Leyen: Queen in the Commission, Servant in the Council

A year into her second term, the European Commission’s notoriously controlling president is attracting criticism for neutering her college of commissioners while blindly following the EU’s 27 national...

ip-quarterly.com

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Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · 5d

Macron should make a deal with center-left, something he could and should a long time ago.

Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · 5d

Sure, people can still travel and there may be ways to decarbonise flight, but getting there in time and sufficient volume without cookkng the planet will be hard. Anyway, you are projecting things I never said or implied, so I will assume your response was made in bad faith.

Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · 6d

Yet if people will not stop doing that, we won’t decarbonise sufficiently. The point is that we should develop and advocate lifestyles that are attractive on their own right. People like more free time, greenery, walkable urban areas etc. It’s also not b&w. An occasional flight is ok.

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Reposted by Olivier Beys

Bert De Vroey @bertdevroey.bsky.social · 8d

Ooit waren de Taliban zowat de belangrijkste vijand van het westen, als de antipode van onze westerse waarden en normen. Nu ondermijnen we die waarden en normen zelf steeds meer, en rekenen we daarbij op de hulp van de Taliban.
vrtnws.be/p.mRGOpLe37

Minister van Asiel en Migratie Van Bossuyt wil praten met taliban om meer Afghanen terug te kunnen sturen | VRT NWS: nieuws

Minister van Asiel en Migratie Anneleen Van Bossuyt (N-VA) wil met het Afghaanse taliban-regime praten om de terugkeer van "illegale en criminele Afghanen" mogelijk te maken. Ze noemt dat een "pragmat...

vrtnws.be

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Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · 8d

Take note, #Brussels. Here's your periodic reminder that car dependency and car oriented infrastructure leads to car brain, in which people dissociate themselves from the problems they have caused themselves.

Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · 9d

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Olivier Beys @olivierbeys.bsky.social · 9d

Free #Palestine and #Gaza, and the passengers on the #Sumud Flotilla. Now marching to the EU Parliament in #Brussels ✊

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