Tomas Vanheste
Tomas Vanheste (Ostend, 1968) writes investigative pieces, interviews, and reports on a wide range of topics, but has a particular interest in environmental issues. He received his Ph.D. in the history of science at the University of Twente, served as an editor at De Bezige Bij Publishers, and was part of the editorial team of Vrij Nederland and De Correspondent.
Since 2020 he works as a freelance journalist. His articles are published by several media in the Netherlands and Belgium, including Knack, Apache and De Groene Amsterdammer. In May 2025, his book Men Who Are Silent: On Threatened Fertility and the Longing for Fatherhood came out.
Expertise
Environmental and health issues
Recent publication
Een wankele vergroeningsstrategie, with Daan Stoop. De Groene Amsterdammer, 4 June 2026
‘Green chemistry at North Sea Port is mostly just talk’, with Daan Stoop, Apache, 22 and 23 January 2026
In a not-so-distant, sunny past, Flanders, the Netherlands, and North Rhine-Westphalia jointly set out their ambition to become the global driving force in the transition to a sustainable and competitive chemical industry.
While this region presents itself as a natural leader in green chemistry, successfully competing with the U.S., China, and Japan, recent reports point to tough times ahead for the chemical industry in these parts. In unison, the CEOs of major chemical companies declare that energy prices and labor costs are too high, the regulatory burden too heavy, and government support too weak. They warn that without radical measures, Europe will lose out to China and are pleading for government support. At the end of this year, the Belgian government gave them exactly what they wanted: it promised to allocate an additional 900 million euros to lower energy bills.
That is exactly what you shouldn’t do, warns the environmental movement. Because that perpetuates the fossil fuel system. It points out that the petrochemical industry in Belgium accounts for as much as 62% of industrial energy demand and, relative to its enormous CO2 emissions, creates little economic value. Instead of trying to keep the petrochemical industry here at all costs, the government should do what it has so solemnly promised: fully commit to the transition to green chemistry, which uses sustainable raw materials and clean energy and produces safe substances and materials that do not harm the environment or human health and are recyclable. Only in this way can we prevent the sector from leaving and play a pioneering role in the chemistry of the future.
What is actually happening on the ground regarding the transition the government dreams of and the environmental movement demands? We put this to the test at North Sea Port, the binational port that claims to be fully committed to a circular future, and find that, for now, it remains nothing more than lip service.
Website
www.tomasvanheste.eu
Contact
info@tomasvanheste.eu