Good Day BIO: Why you should care about COP27

Before all of our attention turns to tomorrow’s midterms, let’s take a moment for the planet—here’s what you need to know about COP27, and why even the health care sector needs to care about climate change. (728 words, 3 minutes, 38 seconds)

What to know about COP27

The U.N. Climate Change Conference is taking place Nov. 6-18 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, the annual meeting of the 198 signatories of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change—here’s what we’re watching.

COP27 has four main goals:

• Mitigation and reducing emissions below 2°C.
• Adaptation for climate resilience.
• Finance, including delivering $100 billion per year to assist developing countries.
• Collaboration among all stakeholders. 

“There will be a specific focus on how we scale the solutions required to meet our growing food demand in a climate-resilient way, which means commercializing innovative technological solutions and promoting agroecological practices,” explains the World Economic Forum. “The Food Systems Pavilion will be front and center for strengthening these multistakeholder partnerships.”

Agriculture must be part of these talks. Agriculture accounts for around 10% of greenhouse gas emissions—but we have many biotech tools available to reduce ag emissions. 

Two initiatives can help:

• Agricultural Innovation Mission (AIM) for Climate, launched by the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates at COP26 in 2021 to put agriculture at the center of climate action, is part of the Biden administration’s commitment to a “whole-of-government approach” to the climate crisis.
• Coalition for Sustainable Productivity Growth, launched last year to accelerate the transition to more sustainable food systems through ag productivity growth “that optimizes agricultural sustainability across social, economic, and environmental dimensions.”

BIO’s on board—joining AIM as one of nearly 50 non-governmental Knowledge Partners, and signing on to the Coalition for Sustainable Productivity Growth along with nine countries and dozens of private-sector stakeholders. 

But it’s not just about food—read BIO’s Biotech Solutions for Climate Report to learn about how biotech can help us reduce emissions and warming and help solve the climate crisis.

How climate change exacerbates infectious disease

If you think the health care sector doesn’t need to worry about climate change, think again—and get ready for an onslaught of infectious disease outbreaks.

By the numbers: 58% of pathogenic diseases “have been at some point aggravated by climatic hazards,” found a recent study. More than 1,000 unique pathways allowed climate change to increase infectious diseases, and aggravate non-infectious diseases, too.

Take deadly antimicrobial-resistant fungi, which, according to the WHO, are increasing in “incidence and geographic range” as fungi adapt to higher temperatures—same as bacteria.

Or Lyme disease, which has seen a 357% increase in prevalence in rural areas between 2007 and 2021, along with a 65% growth of infections in urban areas, due to warming temperatures and more ticks.

Or dengue, which affects half the world’s population and kills some 20,000 (mostly children) per year, with numbers expected to rise due to the increase in mosquitoes.

Here’s why: “As the planet heats up, animals big and small, on land and in the sea, are headed to the poles to get out of the heat. That means animals are coming into contact with other animals they normally wouldn’t, and that creates an opportunity for pathogens to get into new hosts,” said Harvard researchers about the role of climate change in the spread of COVID-19.

What we need to do: “The human pathogenic diseases and transmission pathways aggravated by climatic hazards are too numerous for comprehensive societal adaptations, highlighting the urgent need to work at the source of the problem: reducing GHG emissions,” found the researchers at the University of Hawaii. 

(Better news: biotech can help.)

More News: 

CNN: Paxlovid reduces risk of long COVID, Veterans Affairs study finds
“The analysis showed people treated with Paxlovid had a 26% reduced risk of developing several long COVID conditions, including heart disease, blood disorders, fatigue, liver disease, kidney disease, muscle pain, neurocognitive impairment, and shortness of breath. That corresponded to 2.3 fewer cases of long COVID conditions per 100 people three months after their diagnosis.” 

Delaware News Journal (Opinion): Slashing American IP rights will needlessly hurt Delaware's biotech sector
“U.S. trade negotiators must understand that a waiver-prone WTO will quickly give pause to those who risk precious capital to fund biomedical innovation. Without robust IP protection the TRIPS agreement provides globally, there will be no innovation to share under its terms,” writes Michael Fleming, President of the Delaware BioScience Association.

WSJ (Opinion): Mexico Threatens a Trade War, A ban on genetically modified corn would be catastrophic for North America. Today’s Wall Street Journal  highlights a study BIO and a coalition of leading food and agriculture industry stakeholders in both Mexico and the United States released last month on how Mexico’s proposed restrictions of biotech corn would adversely impact food security in North America and raise consumer prices for corn, basic foods, and other critical products derived from corn, particularly in Mexico.

President Biden’s Monday: Virtual DNC receptions this afternoon, then heading to a reception for Maryland gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore at Bowie State University.

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: Midterms tomorrow. CNN outlines a few key ballot measures (including related to Medicaid) to watch in the states tomorrow, and STAT News has more on what to watch related to health care.