Alternative Fuels & Chemicals Policy Priorities for 2024

Abstract

Industrial BiotechnologyVol. 19, No. 5 EditorialFree AccessAlternative Fuels & Chemicals Policy Priorities for 2024Rina SinghRina SinghRina Singh, PhD, Executive Vice President at Alternative Fuels & Chemicals Coalition (AFCC) and board member, Industrial BiotechnologySearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:18 Oct 2023https://doi.org/10.1089/ind.2023.29322.rsiAboutSectionsPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail As the year is heading towards the end, we are still waiting for the enactment of major bills to pass in Congress and these will not be funded until Congress agrees on spending bills which are commonly called Appropriation Bills, which fund the government and keep all of its functions operational, and passage of important bills to keep the country operating its key sectors such as aviation, agriculture, food banks, and all of the federal agencies. Short spending gaps were proposed by the Senate, the House has not accepted.Major bills are at a standstill, such as every five-year renewal of the Federal Aviation Administration Act (FAA) which is facing a possible lapse in its statutory authorization for the first time since 2011, which will cause the nation to lose an estimated $54 million a day in fuel and fare tax revenues. The other large bill which has stalled is the 2023 Farm Bill, Senate Ag Chairwoman, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) promised the re-authorization of the five-year Farm Bill to be enacted in December 2023, but with the Government shut-down this will be delayed until next year. Another very important bill for the nation is the annual passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), it too has not reached conference, even though both chambers have passed their versions which differ in funding levels.The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 (IRA 2022) has caused a lot of excitement for the Alternative Fuels & Chemicals Coalition (AFCC) member companies since we worked very hard, as did other groups, for the provisions related to renewable energy which includes renewable chemicals and biobased products. IRA 2022 is the most significant climate legislation in U.S. history, offering funding (nearly $400 billion), programs, and incentives to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy and will likely drive significant deployment of new clean electricity resources, and most provisions of the IRA 2022 became effective this year. Section 48C is an investment Tax Credit (ITC) which provides 30% tax incentive to manufacturers of equipment that reduces emissions – both biofuels and renewable chemicals (includes bioplastics) producers are eligible for the tax credits as long as the producer is the manufacturer of the equipment.There are ongoing discussions on whether Treasury will issue guidance documents for the other renewable energy tax provisions (Sections 40B, 45Z, 45Q, 45X, 45V) this year, which are all important to AFCC member company producers. There are concerns that with the government shut down, funding may decline in Treasury and the guidance documents for the tax credits slated for December may not be issued. AFCC is working closely with the White House and Federal Agencies to ensure the implementation of these renewable energy project tax provisions are implemented as Congress intended. AFCC will continue this work in 2024.Very recently, AFCC and its member companies were very pleased to see the release of the “Sustainable Chemistry Report: Framing the Federal Landscape” prepared by the Sustainable Chemistry Strategy Team under the National Science and Technology Council's Joint Subcommittee on Environment, Innovation, and Public Health. The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) configured the Sustainable Chemistry Strategy Team in response to a Congressional directive to coordinate Federal research on sustainable chemistry (National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 21). The Strategy Team is co-chaired by OSTP, NSF, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The report provides the definition of sustainable chemistry which is very similar or identical to the definition which AFCC and its member companies proposed in a Request for Information (RFI) issued by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) earlier this year. In 2024, AFCC plans to work with the newly created Strategy Team on the implementation of the report.The Biomanufacturing and Jobs Act, S.2452, bipartisan marker bill for Section 9002, BioPreferred® Program, in Energy Title 1X, in the re-authorization of the Farm Bill, was recently introduced in the Senate by Senators Klobuchar (D-MN), Ernst (R-IA), Stabenow (D-MI), and Ricketts (R-NE), and its companion bill H.R.5134, in the House, by Representatives Alford (R-MO) and Craig (D-MN). AFCC and its member companies worked closely with Senators Klobuchar and Stabenow to ensure several of AFCC's key provisions are in the marker bill, such as the carbon intensity for consumer labels, Executive Order 14081, Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy, Section 6, and NAICS codes.For the remainder of this year and in 2024, AFCC will continue working on ensuring the implementation as Congress intended of the major bills enacted such as IRA 2022 energy tax provisions, protecting the energy tax provisions, advocating for the re-authorization of the Farm Bill, especially Energy Title IX, Forestry Title VIII, and Rural Development Title VI programs. Advocating for the Senate/House marker bill for the BioPreferred® Program is incorporated in the re-authorization of the Farm Bill. Work on standards development for a carbon intensity consumer label from the farm gate to the consumer shelf will be continued. We will initiate conversations with the newly created Strategy Team for sustainable chemistry implementation work on key areas of importance to AFCC and its member companies and work toward enactment of a renewable chemicals tax credit.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 19Issue 5Oct 2023 InformationCopyright 2023, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishersTo cite this article:Rina Singh.Alternative Fuels & Chemicals Policy Priorities for 2024.Industrial Biotechnology.Oct 2023.249-250.http://doi.org/10.1089/ind.2023.29322.rsiPublished in Volume: 19 Issue 5: October 18, 2023PDF download