Good Day BIO: How states advanced low-carbon fuels in 2021

Ending the week with a recap of a banner year for biofuels in the states, plus what policymakers can do to support vaccine manufacturers and global vaccination efforts. (691 words, 3 minutes, 27 seconds)

How states advanced low-carbon fuels in 2021

States took impressive legislative action in 2021 to advance low-carbon fuel standards (LCFS), which encourage development and use of sustainable fuels. Here’s a recap of the year.

Washington State: Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law a clean fuel standard requiring fuel producers to limit carbon in transportation fuels 10% by 2028 and 20% by 2035 or purchase carbon credits. This follows similar legislation in California, where 38 million tons of carbon pollution have been reduced since 2011 and Oregon, where greenhouse gases were cut by 3.1 million tons within four years. 

This is the “headline” achievement for the year, said Gene Harrington, BIO’s Director of State Advocacy and State Government Affairs for Food and Agriculture. It “completed a Western clean fuels corridor running from British Columbia through California.” 

Nevada and Oregon: Both passed legislation permitting sale of E15 (ethanol). “With those two bills, there are now only two states which don’t permit the sale of E15: Montana and California,” said Harrington. “There’s a chance there could be some activity in California.”

New Mexico: In “unexpected progress in New Mexico,” LCFS legislation passed the Senate, but not the House. It is likely to come up next year, with a “better than average chance it will pass,” according to Harrington. 

Watch New York and Minnesota: Both states are considering LCFS legislation. “Once New York passes [LCFS legislation], then New Jersey and Connecticut become natural follow-ups,” said Harrington. 

Others to watch in 2022: LCFS legislation is possible in Vermont, especially if progress is made in New York. Nebraska may also see some LCFS legislation in 2022. 

The big picture: Earlier this year, the White House announced an effort to boost sustainable fuels production to 3 billion gallons and reduce aviation emissions 20%. State-level legislative activity will be key to meeting this goal. 

Read the whole thing. 

‘Phenomenal year’ for vaccine science but policymakers must help

A year after the first COVID-19 vaccine was administered, vaccine manufacturers have achieved remarkable success, but they need support from policymakers, according to experts (including BIO President and CEO Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath).

Manufacturers will have produced 11.2 billion doses by year’s end,the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA), which hosted an end-of-year vaccine update for media yesterday. 

mRNA vaccines are estimated to have saved 1 million lives, said Dr. Michelle. “We set out to decouple infection from death and disability, and we are starting to see quite a bit of that decoupling.” 

“It has been a phenomenal year for the science,” she said. “But we have seen a failure of politics. And the politics is getting in the way of us having the equitable distribution of vaccine doses.” 

What’s the problem? Trade barriers and invocation of the U.S. Defense Production Act complicated supply chains and the 300-plus global partnerships initiated by manufacturers, including Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna manufacturing in South Africa and Rwanda, respectively. 

Meanwhile, politicians’ “bumper sticker” solutions, like a proposed WTO TRIPs waiver, are misguided: “If the simple waving of intellectual property would actually stop this pandemic, I think you would see a different conversation coming from the biotech sector, coming from the scientists,” she continued. “But what we know is that it takes so much more than just the recipe book to get to a useful vaccine.” 

What are solutions? Reducing trade barriers, harmonizing global drug regulations, and addressing hesitancy are key. 

Watch the whole thing.

More Health Care News:

The New York Times: Omicron spreading in U.S.; vaccines are best defense
“Scientists believe that the vaccines will still provide protection against the worst outcomes; there is early evidence, for instance, that T cells, which can help prevent infections from progressing to severe disease, should still recognize the variant. And boosters are likely to provide additional protection against infection, preliminary data suggests.”

President Biden’s Friday: Addressing December graduates at South Carolina State University and belatedly presenting House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn with his degree from the historically Black school. 

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: With Biden and Democrats conceding the Build Back Better vote won’t happen this year, the Senate turns its attention to some judicial and ambassadorial appointments. The House is not in session.