In a new development in the ongoing fight against woke investing, a coalition of 12 Republican state agriculture commissioners has taken aim at six large U.S. banks over their net-zero ambitions. This move represents a significant pushback against the banks’ involvement in the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), which aims to finance ambitious climate action and transition the economy to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The state officials, including Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, penned a letter to top executives of Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo, expressing concerns about the potential impact of the banks’ net-zero commitments on American farmers. They warned that these commitments may lead to food availability issues, price increases, limited credit access for farmers, and broader negative economic consequences.
Harper emphasized the importance of supporting American industries, particularly the agriculture industry, and criticized the UN’s climate agenda, which he believes seeks to cripple one of the country’s most critical sectors. He further stated that the NZBA’s involvement would pose a serious threat to national security and called for it to be stopped.
The NZBA, organized by the United Nations, encourages its member banks to design, set, and achieve science-based net-zero targets for 2030 or sooner. The alliance issued a progress report during last month’s U.N. climate summit, highlighting the aggressive green energy commitments made by two-thirds of its growing membership pool. These commitments primarily target sectors such as power, fossil fuels, manufacturing, and real estate.
However, the state agriculture commissioners expressed concerns that the net-zero commitments outlined by the banks could have severe consequences for American farmers. They argued that achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture would require costly and impractical changes to farming and ranching operations, such as switching to electric machinery, installing renewable energy infrastructure, and reducing meat consumption. These changes could lead to increased food costs, decreased food production, and job losses in the livestock industry.
The agriculture officials, who have the authority to initiate investigations and bring enforcement actions, requested information from the banks regarding their involvement in the NZBA and their net-zero goals. Officials from Alabama, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia also signed the letter, emphasizing the importance of protecting American farmers and the country’s food security.
Critics of the banks’ net-zero ambitions, such as Will Hild, the executive director of watchdog group Consumers’ Research, argue that they will drive up the cost of doing business for small family farmers and independent ranchers. Hild applauds the states’ action against what he sees as corporate malfeasance and expresses a commitment to work with them to defend American consumers from the potential consequences of climate extremism.
This latest move by Republican state officials against top U.S. banks reflects the ongoing clash between Republican and Democratic ideologies on climate issues and highlights the increasing significance of the net-zero movement in the financial sector. The outcome of this battle will have implications for American farmers, the country’s food supply, and consumer prices.
