NM passes clean fuel standard

New Mexico’s legislature passed a clean fuel standard—something BIO’s been working on for a while. Also, reports indicate WTO negotiators could not reach a consensus on expanding the COVID IP waiver ahead of the Ministerial later this month. Here’s what we know. (645 words, 3 minutes, 13 seconds)

New Mexico passes clean fuel standard

Late Tuesday, the New Mexico legislature passed a clean fuel standard—something BIO’s worked on for years. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who supported the legislation, is expected to sign it into law.

The Clean Transportation Fuels Standard (HB 41)  “would establish benchmarks to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuels by 20% before 2030 and by 30% before 2040. The bill would also incentivize the production of lower-emission fuels by offering credits to producers,” New Mexico House Democrats said in a press release.

The economic impact:$470 million in investment, 1,600 permanent jobs, and 2,300 construction jobs. The shift toward biofuels will encourage new investment in the forestry and dairy industries, said Gene Harrington, BIO’s Senior Director of State Government Affairs, Agriculture & Environment.

The environment and health impact: “HB 41 will protect both public health and the environment, reducing transportation emissions in New Mexico by 18.5 million metric tons,” said Harrington.

The national impact: Three states—California, Oregon, and Washington—already have clean fuel standards, which have displaced billions of gallons of fossil fuels and reduced millions of tons of greenhouse gases.

What BIO’s been doing: BIO has been working on the issue since legislation was proposed four years ago and launched a BIOAction campaign to help New Mexicans urge their state representatives to support the clean fuel standard.

BIO’s view: “HB 41 is an important piece of legislation that can diversify New Mexico’s economy, protect the environment, combat climate change, and establish New Mexico’s leadership in a national transition to clean fuels,” said Harrington. BIO applauds HB 41’s passage.

Report: WTO negotiators lack consensus on IP waiver

World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiators said they could not reach consensus on waiving IP rights for COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics. At the moment, the proposal seems unlikely to be brought up at the upcoming WTO Ministerial.

The context: The WTO has been considering a waiver of IP rights for COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics. The Biden administration backed the vaccine waiver in 2022 but has not yet announced its position on expansion.

The news: WTO’s Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) submitted a report yesterday ahead of the WTO’s 13th Ministerial Conference on Feb. 26-29. “Consensus could not be reached on the extension,” WTO reported.

What they’re saying: “Tuesday’s decision means there will be no further (IP) concessions made on current or future tests or treatments” for COVID, The Guardian reports.

BIO joined broad opposition to the waiver, which would shake confidence in global IP protections, chilling investment and harming innovation, BIO Board Member Eddie J. Sullivan, President of SAB Biotherapeutics told Congress last week.

What’s next: The WTO’s 13th Ministerial Conference, the biannual leadership meeting, will run Feb. 26-29. BIO will be watching the proceedings and continue to advocate for not expanding the waiver.

More Health News: 

STAT News (Opinion): A California court is setting a dangerous precedent over drug development (or lack thereof) liability
“This decision, if not overturned by the California Supreme Court, would open an entirely new avenue of litigation: second-guessing complex R&D decisions made years earlier. Never before have companies been held liable for failing to progress an “improved” or better product over one sufficiently safe and effective to have secured — and still have — FDA approval. With such potential liability looming, it is easy to imagine a company that is developing parallel products forgoing the easier one in fear it will be held liable for progressing that one over the other, depriving patients of important therapeutic options,” writes Dan Troy, who was previously general counsel of GlaxoSmithKline and chief counsel of the Food and Drug Administration (2001-2004). (Read the Bio.News coverage of this issue here.)

President Biden’s Thursday: No public events scheduled.

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: The House Oversight Committee's Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic will hold a hearing today on "Assessing America's Vaccine Safety Systems." Just off Capitol Hill (and virtually), the U.S. Department of Agriculture kicks off its Agricultural Outlook Forum in Arlington, VA; we’ll watch key sessions and report back.