At the intersection of the globalist climate agenda and woke capital are big banks, and they’re gearing up to keep key players in America’s fundamental industries that use fossil fuels from obtaining loans. Leading a coalition of 19 states, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has launched an investigation into six major banks for this so-called “ESG” push.
According to a press release from Schmitt’s office, the Missouri attorney general and 18 others have served Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo “with civil investigative demands, which act as a subpoena, asking for documents relating to the companies’ involvement with the United Nations’ (UN) Net-Zero Banking Alliance.”
As part of a broader global push for “environmental, social, and governance,” or ESG, standards — an unofficial social credit system that “ranks corporations by how well they follow mainstream environmental movements, practice social justice, and support ‘acceptable’ political endeavors” — this UN alliance requires companies that use these banks to work toward reducing emissions to net zero by 2050. In other words, those in fossil fuels or without radical climate targets — including farmers and the oil and gas industry — could be banned from getting loans or credit.
“The Net-Zero Banking Alliance is a massive worldwide agreement by major banking institutions, overseen by the U.N., to starve companies engaged in fossil fuel-related activities of credit on national and international markets,” said Schmitt. “Missouri farmers, oil leasing companies, and other businesses that are vital to Missouri’s and America’s economy will be unable to get a loan because of this alliance.”
As the Missouri attorney general noted on Twitter, “The first targeted sectors are power generation, and oil and gas,” but ESG extremism is coming for other industries too. “Banks have also committed to target other sectors, like agriculture, aluminum, cement, commercial and residential real estate, iron and steel, and transport. This would have negative impacts on Missouri’s economy,” Schmitt added.
The AGs’ civil investigation is demanding these banks identify all parts of their financial institutions that have NZBA or ESG-related responsibilities. The attorneys general are also requiring answers on what Global Climate Initiatives each bank is affiliated with, who made the decision to join the initiatives, and what that involvement entails.
“We are leading a coalition investigating banks for ceding authority to the U.N., which will only result in the killing of American companies that don’t subscribe to the woke, climate agenda,” Schmitt added. “These banks are accountable to American laws — we don’t let international bodies set the standards for our businesses.”
Other states joining Missouri’s investigation include Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, along with five other states that are not named due to state confidentiality laws and regulations.
This is not the first time the Missouri AG’s office has pushed back against ESG banking practices. Over the summer, Schmitt was once again joined by 18 other attorneys general in sending similar demands to Morningstar and Sustainalytics, “both containing 43 interrogatories for documents pertaining to Morningstar’s perceived anti-Israel bias in ESG ratings products like Sustainalytics’ ‘Human Rights Radar,’ as well as documents relating to previous investigations into this bias by the law firm White & Case and the Illinois Investment Policy Board.”
