As the 1st Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels kicks off today in Santa Marta, the conversation is shifting from “if” to “how”— and CIEL experts are sounding the alarm on the systems keeping the industry on life support as we prepare to pull the plug. 🧵1/7

As leaders gather in Santa Marta for the Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, our expert @dlevialvares.bsky.social explains why a fossil-free future must include tackling petrochemicals. 🧵 - 1/5 ⬇️

💘 Love is in the air… or is it influence? This Valentine’s Day, we’re taking a closer look at the relationships shaping EU policy. 👇 [1/7]

“how’s work been lately?” me:

petrochemicals are the lifeline of the fossil fuel industry their impact on the climate, ecosystems, workers and people’s health is huge, but often hidden

if you care about the environment and feel frustrated by the lack of progress, it’s not you, it’s corporate capture

what a delicious Christmas haul

I want to talk about generative AI because of the defeatist impulses chronicled in this article. While simply expresssing a defiant attitude cannot always change lived-in reality, in certain cases it definitely can. This is in part because, early on, a conflict can exist at a perceptions level. 1/?

today 👇

“As my professional life keeps me knee-deep in democratic collapse, climate breakdown and other crises, the joy of reading aloud feels less like a luxury and more like a necessity.” I knew I wasn’t the only one crazy about reading aloud and now as a parent of small child that joy has multiplied

“Syntax buckles beneath the pressure of empty stomachs. Grammar is no match for despair. I sit before my keyboard and try to summon what once came so naturally, but words scatter midway, like startled birds forgetting how to fly” from a powerful essay about hunger from Gazan writer Alaa Alqaisi

LIVE: #INC52 #PlasticsTreaty plenary is happening now in Geneva. The new text from INC Chair @LuisVayasEc (released only 1 hour ago) does not mention "life cycle" or "chemicals" at all. It is a betrayal of the original mandate. #BreakFreeFromPlastic unep.org/inc-plastic-... (1/🧵

🚨 This text gives in to petrostates and industry demands — Member States must reject it. The chair's draft text has just dropped at #PlasticsTreaty talks. CIEL's @Davzoul responds.

as many are heading to Geneva for the Plastics Treaty negotiations and the EU obsesses over competitiveness, I wrote a briefing about how a pause on plastics production would be a win, not just for the environment (duh) but also economically

their advertisement also shows the reality that there's really no separation between the fossil fuel industry and the chemical industry fossil fuel companies happily support the "industry of industries" narrative as petrochemicals represent a huge lifeline for them, usually hidden from public view

☠️The fact that everyday chemical products may contain ingredients that cause cancer is already problematic. The bare minimum would be to have labelling & packaging that clearly states any hazardous substance – so that we can protect ourselves. But the Chemicals #Omnibus would do the exact opposite.

🧪“This Chemicals Action Plan exposes a troubling truth: EU policymaking is increasingly shaped by industry interests, not public welfare.” - Silvia Pastorelli, CIEL. “EU Bends to Chemical Lobby”, CIEL full statement here: www.ciel.org/news/eu-bend...

sure the far-right has grown significantly, but more than a win of the far-right, to me this shows how little the main groups cared about the climate target: simply not enough

my phone yesterday, 8:20 in the morning 15 degrees above average, Brussels, Northern Europe now, the fact that I'm Mediterranean and used to high(er) temperatures didn't make me blind to the fact that we were stepping into a furnace it'll keep happening if we don't start taking serious action NOW

absolutely love the venetian resistance to bezos's wedding ordinary people, on the absolute front lines of climate breakdown and having their city gutted by capitalism, pushing back against their home being turned into disneyland for rich jerks

Good morning ☀️ if you’re wondering what we’re doing with a giant prisoner’s ball in front of the EU Council this morning.. it’s because next Monday European ministers will discuss changes to EU legislation that could chain us even more to fossil gas under the excuse of energy security WHY?👇

their words were "Resist, Defend, Rebuild" my heart goes in particular to the partigiane, the women, who fought just as hard, even for their right to fight alongside men and carry guns, and are too often forgotten buona liberazione a tutti

Brussels’s circular economy strikes again, this time providing me with two coffee saucers made in former Yugoslavia: time to put the coffee pot on!

📢 Communities in the US are paying the price for Europe’s fossil gas addiction. 🚨The EU replaced Putin’s gas with U.S. LNG, mostly produced through fracking. This is the reality for communities on the frontlines 🧵👇 @foodwatereurope.bsky.social @uscannetwork.bsky.social @andygheorghiu.bsky.social

Listen to the impacted US community members @ec.europa.eu @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu @marossefcovic.bsky.social! Defend EU #methane regulations! @foodwatereurope.bsky.social @caneurope.org @betterbayou.bsky.social @chispalcv.bsky.social @tadziomueller.bsky.social @parentsforfuture.de

It is actually so fucking annoying when people tell me “it’s too late to solve climate change” as if a) all 8 billion people on this planet are about to drop dead and b) if we oriented the economy around need instead of profit we wouldn’t be able to get things under a reasonable level of control

🚩 Red flag: Today, the @esabcc.bsky.social released a report on scaling up carbon dioxide removal with recommendations that, while well-intentioned, risk legitimizing dangerous technologies and distracting European Union policymakers from much-needed real climate solutions. Our reaction👇🧵

while I keep writing briefings that start with last January was the hottest on record, EU Commission plans to buy more gas, this time with the excuse of making energy more affordable more gas won’t improve people’s lives or lower their bills, just prolong the stranglehold of a fossil based economy

really impressive legal analysis (for both the lawyers and the non-initiated) on a possible ban on all new fossil fuel projects in the EU it gives me hope to see real experts saying that stopping all new fossil projects it’s not only necessary but also possible

Italy’s security bill threatens fundamental rights It criminalizes peaceful protest, with harsh penalties for activists, detainees, and migrants Human rights bodies warn of serious risks - the Senate should listen ❌Repression is not security❌ hrw.org/news/2025/02...

if you live in Brussels, you probably know about what I love to call Brussels’s circular economy: people’s habit to leave in the street stuff they don’t want anymore for others to pick up it has served me so well during the years that I want to document what gems I’ll collect over the year

while we wait for the Clean Industrial Deal, let’s ask who and what it should support a truly green & just transition should ultimately serve communities & the planet, not chase growth at all costs to blindly serve industry interests 👇my blog for @cielorg.bsky.social www.ciel.org/can-eu-clean...

it looks like ammonia will increasingly be at the centre of many discussions on EU’s chemical and industrial policies so I’ll be attending Ammonia Europe’s launch event today curious to hear what role the European Commission sees for it in their future plans

I think we can change the world by having protected bike lanes and secure bike parking everywhere.

"Equinor has retracted a claim that it stores about a million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually at its flagship carbon capture project after DeSmog obtained data showing the real figure was as little as a tenth of that amount": www.desmog.com/2025/01/14/e...

as more and more people get to know about the huge threat #PFAS are to our health and the environment, the chemical industry lobbies against the proposal to restrict them old tactics, but if they get their way we all lose read more from the good people in CEO and the Forever Lobbying Project👇

fresh start today: after many years in Greenpeace, I’m now onto a new adventure with the incredibly talented people at @cielorg.bsky.social as EU petrochemicals campaigner So if you used to talk to me about fossil fuels, I’m still your person: same fight, different perspective!

There are more Carbon Capture and Storage lobbyists at #COP29 than even well-resourced delegations like USA or Canada As was said of the need for subsidy for underperforming technology: “Winners pick markets, losers pick governments’ www.theguardian.com/environment/...

I strongly suggest that you check out the #COP29 website... www.cop29.com

@johnhyphen.bsky.social more meep meep you said?

Despite representing just 13% of journeys and being owned by 33% of households, cars take up more than half of the public space in Paris. Which is why Mayor Anne Hidalgo is removing 70,000 of its 140,000 on-street parking spaces, to make the city greener and more people-friendly. 🧵

The moment the last coal plant in the UK goes offline (via National Grid ESO) Note that wind power is generating more than gas, and more than nuclear :)

this is a first for me: 6 nations half time on French tv comparing climate change temperature change in France and Ireland since 1850 we need more of this (people talking about climate not roasting our planet)

Next week the EU Commission will reveal proposed climate targets for 2040 ✨WARNING✨ The new target will rely heavily on magicking away pollution instead of fully cutting it And still no end date for fossil fuels? Our look ahead: www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/issu...

some days it feels like we've learnt nothing

CCS, the interim solution that is always just on the horizon. Here in a paper from 1991. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

High energy prices, coupled with the rising cost of living all over, is putting many households in danger of electricity companies cutting their power Disconnections are barbaric - the EU and governments must ban them to protect people in need www.euractiv.fr/section/sant...

a full day for all working cats

Happy Hallowe'en everyone In the spirit of spooky season, we're going to post some of our favourite eco-horror films It's time for the spiraling disasters unleashed by society's destruction of nature