A dozen Republican state agriculture commissioners have penned a letter to six U.S. megabanks, informing them that their push for ESG investing could wind up leading to price increases and may impact food availability.
The letter was sent to executives at Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo and took exception with the group's membership in the UN organized Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), according to Fox News.
The NZBA is "committed to financing ambitious climate action" and is attempting to force the economy to net zero greenhouse emissions by 2050. The letter notes that this could result in "severe consequences" for farmers.
The letter reads: "Achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture requires a complete overhaul of on-farm infrastructure — one of the goals of the NZBA."
"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," it continues.
The letter then says: "To make matters worse, these changes will increase food costs and decrease food production at a time when global food demand is expected to rise dramatically."
"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," the commissioners wrote.
They said the goal of net zero emissions could "permanently damage American agriculture and endanger our country’s food security" and said that "American farmers should not be forced to put our food supply at risk."
Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper commented to Fox: "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."
"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."
Will Hild, the executive director of watchdog group Consumers' Research, told Fox News: "Farmers and ranchers are the foundation of our economy and international climate cartels like the NZBA pose nothing less than an existential threat to their future. By forcing ESG, Brian Moynihan and his cohort have driven the cost of doing business for small family farmers and independent ranchers to astronomical heights."
Hild continued: "The Ag officials and Commissioners hit the nail on the head in their letter: should their misguided climate extremism continue unabated, these megabanks will put our entire food supply in serious jeopardy. I applaud the states for their action, and I look forward to working with them to defend American consumers from this corporate malfeasance."
Officials from Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia all signed the letter. You can read the full letter here:
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