The Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner, Dr. Charlie Hatcher, was not among the top agriculture officials from 12 different states who signed a letter on Monday that warned the heads of six elite banks that their “Net-Zero Banking Alliance” (NZBA) will force economically destructive Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) policies on American farmers.
The Tennessee Star contacted Hatcher’s office by phone and email to ask why he was not among the agriculture officials behind the letter, and to ascertain whether he is concerned by the claim that banks are foisting ESG policies on farmers, but did not receive an immediate response.
Hatcher’s lack of participation came despite several signatures from officials in Republican and southern states, including the top agriculture commissioners in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia.
In their letter, the officials highlight their concerns the NZBA will affect “food availability” and cause “price increases on consumers” and “overall negative economic consequences,” including farmers and other agricultural professionals being required to obtain new equipment to comply with the plan.
The agriculture officials addressed their warnings to the top executives at Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo.
They warned, “Implementing these commitments would have severe consequences for American farmers – including cutting America’s beef and livestock consumption in half, switching to inefficient electric farm equipment, and moving away from the nitrogen fertilizer necessary for American agriculture to thrive.”
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
The letter also warns the agriculture commissioners are “deeply troubled” by the banks giving the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) “authority to ‘review’ and ‘monitor’ your banks’ climate targets for ‘consistency’ with UN criteria,” and cite reports indicating these banks intend to start policing the farming industry in 2024.
The agriculture officials note that the ESG program for farmers will “increase food costs and decrease food production,” even as global demand for agricultural products and food is expected to increase “dramatically.”
“The ‘green premium’ from low-emissions ammonia alone is predicted to increase fertilizer costs by up to 60 percent and food prices by up to 26 percent, even according to net zero proponents like the World Economic Forum,” the officials warned.
Noting their powers as top agricultural officials from their states, the letter warns the banking leaders their “authority extends to initiating investigations and bringing enforcement actions against actors outside the agriculture industry.”
They ask for the banks to explain their participation in NZBA, outline how they intend to achieve “net zero in your agriculture lending,” whether they “consider greenhouse gas emissions” or similar criteria when determining whether a loan will be granted, and what outside groups impacted their policy making by February 16.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Dr. Charlie Hatcher” by Tennessee Dept of Agriculture.
IF it were not for Will Hild & the Tennessee Star, miat of us would not know about this attack on our farmers & ranchers. I would assume the Commissioner of AG ran this decision by Gov Lee, or he took direction from Gov Lee. The buck stops with Gov Lee. As a Tennessee taxpayer, I hope Gov Lee will reconsider. I would assume Gov Lee reads all the reports on ESG, & its Global Sponsors, like Black Rock, AL Gore & many others who have become Billionaires off the the FAKE CLIMATE CHANGE BS. I smell a rat.
The only impact I can have is to close any credit cards I may have that Wells Fargo owns, like Dillard’s. These big banks charge outrageous interest rates so the consumer really is paying for the ESG Giant Heist.