Top Agriculture Officials from 12 States Launch Probe into ESG-Investing by U.S. Banks
Banking institutions, policy makers, and politicians in this country may want to pay attention to Europe. The farmer’s protests are expanding considerably….and tractors are now surrounding the European parliament.
I have been covering the European farmers’ protests, who are demonstrating against their governments for a wide array of policies…including those related to net-zero carbon emission goals and destructive eco-restrictions.
While American farmers haven’t organized similar demonstrations yet, top agricultural officials from 12 states have launched probes into Environmental, Social, and corporate Governance (ESG) investing practices that may be occurring at some big US banks.
A coalition of 12 Republican state agriculture commissioners are taking aim at six large U.S. banks over their net-zero ambitions, opening a new front in the pushback against woke investing, a fight that has primarily been spearheaded by state attorneys general and financial officers.
The top state officials penned a letter Monday morning to top executives of Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo, taking issue in particular with their collective membership in the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). They warned that the banks’ involvement in the global eco alliance may impact food availability, lead to price increases, limit credit access for farmers, and have broad negative economic consequences.
“American agriculture is sending a clear signal: we will not bend the knee to the failed, left-wing climate agenda of the United Nations that seeks to cripple one of our country’s most critical industries,” Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper told FOX Business.
“Now more than ever, banks that do business with America should be unquestionably supporting American industries — and that starts with the one that puts food on our tables, clothes on our backs, and shelter over our heads,” Harper continued. “The UN’s Net-Zero Banking Alliance would be the equivalent of a run on the bank for our nation’s agriculture industry and pose a serious threat to our national security — and it must be stopped.”
The letter asserts that, as members of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), @BankOfAmerica, @Citi, @JPMorgan, @MorganStanley, @WellsFargo, and @GoldmanSachs are all working in lockstep to force the ESG agenda onto the entire domestic food supply chain: pic.twitter.com/1phYm6iOvo
— Will Hild (@WillHild) January 29, 2024
Agricultural commissioners from Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia have signed the letter.
The letter detailed all the likely consequences of attempting to force net-zero goals on farming and ranching in this country.
“Achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture requires a complete overhaul of on-farm infrastructure — one of the goals of the NZBA,” reads a letter from the GOP officials to executives at Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.
“This would have a catastrophic impact on our farmers. Proposed net-zero roadmaps describe dramatic, impractical, and costly changes to American farming and ranching operations such as switching to electric machinery and equipment; installing on-site solar panels and wind turbines; moving to organic fertilizer; altering rice-field irrigation systems; and slashing U.S. ruminant meat consumption in half, costing millions of livestock jobs,” the letter on Monday continued.
…“This is compounded by the fact that, the average American has been struggling to keep up with inflation during the tenure of the Biden Administration. The reality could be much worse. These effects will hit the poor the hardest,” they cautioned.
They further warned that the banks’ pursuit of net-zero goals could “permanently damage American agriculture and endanger our country’s food security.”
“American farmers should not be forced to put our food supply at risk,” the letter concluded.
Banking institutions, policymakers, and politicians in this country may want to pay attention to Europe. The farmer’s protests are expanding considerably….and tractors are now surrounding the European Parliament.
The French government on Wednesday sent armoured vehicles to protect a wholesale food market in Paris in a sign of escalating tensions as farmers blocked highways in France and Belgium and protests spread elsewhere in Europe.
Spanish and Italian farmers said they were joining the protest movement that has also hit Germany, aiming to press governments to ease environmental rules and shield them from rising costs and cheap imports.
With a summit of EU leaders set for Thursday, the bloc’s executive Commission made proposals to limit farm imports from Ukraine and ease some green regulations.
These announcements, however, failed to stop many farmers from Belgium and beyond from driving their tractors into Brussels city centre ahead of a rally planned to coincide with Thursday’s leaders’ summit.
Tractors were seen around the European Parliament, while police cordonned off the Commission and Council buildings.
Farmers blocked highways in southern Belgium and parked tractors a stone’s throw from the EU Parliament, joining a protest movement which has spooked governments ahead of European Parliament elections in June https://t.co/JaRGnLij3A pic.twitter.com/lSojN0Ww2P
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 31, 2024
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EU socialists trying to ban all agriculture except for cannabis, which is to be considered “medicine”. After they are too stoned to get off the sofa, putin will roll in the tanks.
“I remember when the banker was the farmer’s friend.” John Mellencamp.
and I remember when John Mellencamp pretended to be the farmers friend.
After Jan 6 we all have become cowards
Me included
I wanted to go Jan6 was desperately looking for someone to go with and I couldn’t find anyone who could, so I didn’t.
I remember someone on a now defunct blog, which almost immediately after Jan 6 ceased to exist, calling
Me a coward for not going , this was before Jan 6 .
I often wonder if I would be sitting in Prison today…
“Proposed net-zero roadmaps describe dramatic, impractical, and costly changes to American farming and ranching operations… [which will] permanently damage American agriculture and endanger our country’s food security.”
“Were we directed from Washington when to sow and when to reap, we
should soon want bread.” –Thomas Jefferson: Autobiography, 1821.
This and other challenges to the establishment vision by the States shows us another parallel track for opposition. Yes winning Senate and HoR seats are important but so are the down ballot contests for State AG, State Agriculture Commission, State Utilities Commission, State Treasurer, State Auditor, State Securities Commission, State Insurance Commission, State Banking Commission. Not to mention the examples of Sheriff, DA, City/County Commission, Judicial contests and State legislature.
Take a page from the d/prog and stay involved. Keep in the contest, don’t withdraw or wallow in despair muttering that ‘it won’t make a difference’ and stay home on election day. There’s plenty of ways to use these offices to blunt the woke/leftist agenda. Surrendering by refusing to show up and vote for these contests just lets the lefty ideologues win.
This is so very true.
Thanks.
I reread ‘Enjoy the Decline’ by Aaron Clarey last week and just now noticed you being mentioned/thanked in the credits. A friend suggested that book to me when I was having a difficult time adjusting after my medical retirement from the Army back in ’15.
The list of companies who hate our values is so long, it’d be impossible to take them all on, but as Bud Light has demonstrated, voting with your pocket book and patronage is powerful.
10 minutes ago I commented on women competitors lack of boycotting competions with males is why this is allowed to continue. Bethany Hamilton didn’t have to quit the sport, she and her fellow competitors just needed to refuse to suit up when a tranny was in the competition. Other than 10 other men jumping over to show how absurd this is- it’s the best way to end it. They won’t stand together.
Conservatives rarely do either. Targeting just one of these banks with purpose would do it. Changing a bank account is not much effort and very damaging.
I think you underestimate how much extra BS changing a bank account is. Gotta fill out paperwork for the employer or pension or SSI to sort them of the new deposit account. Change it with the mortgage company and maybe your auto loan that was on direct payment. Many have their utilities set up this way in addition there’s Amazon Prime, the internet provider or whatever else.
That’s a big lift for most folks which is why almost everything is moving to a subscription model. The companies understand folks are lazy and will go with path of least resistance and they can keep getting their monthly payment.
Heck it is easier to vote than do all that stuff yet we have plenty of folks who can’t/won’t be bothered even in a crucial contest where they know their vote will be a factor. Remember that 200K GoP voters in GA who cast a ballot in Nov ’20 made a choice to stay home in the Jan Senate run off elections and the d/prog took both Senate Seats. If those voters had showed up in Jan both GoP candidates win by a wide margin.
And, all of that was one of the points of making everything electronic and automatic. It’s much harder to finagle your taxes to the minimum when they can’t pay you in cash and there’s required withholding. And, yes, it’s harder to move about if everything is tied to a bank account. You can’t even get a rechargeable, non-account driven, debit card anymore. It’s either non-reloadable or you have to open a bank account.
They have obviously not considered the needs of all steakholders.
ESG is part of the Progressive religion.
This is religious discrimination.