Stroke of a Pen - Biden Stock Scheme Places Private Property at Risk

New SEC rule would “conserve” private land and monetize the air we breathe.

John Anthony

Birth of a stock scheme

In May of 2022 , January and September of 2023, the Biden administration unleashed three  executive actions that combined blur the lines between private and public property ownership  and surrender management of private lands and public properties to a coterie of wealthy climate elitists.

In September 2023 the administration’s SEC proposed a rule creating a new investment vehicle, Natural Asset Companies (NAC) to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. NACs allow investors and governments to profit from the protection of natural resources, necessitated by the government’s  push to end the “climate crisis.”

NACs were developed by the NYSE and the Intrinsic Exchange Group (IEG) which includes supporters like the Rockefeller Foundation and The Nature Conservancy. (The involvement of (TNC) is  alarming. I’ll explain why in a minute.)

NACs will hold the rights to the ecological performance ( i.e., the value of natural assets and production of ecosystem services) produced by natural or working areas, such as national preserves or farmlands.

These rights can be licensed like other rights, including “run with the land” rights (such as mineral rights, water rights, or air rights). The “NACs are expected to license these rights from sovereign nations or private landowners.” Lands will include large-scale farmland, public lands, parks, historic sites, national preserves, National Wildlife Refuges, Wilderness Areas, and National Monuments.

Rather than investing in oil or minerals, a NAC portfolio is invested in “ecosystem services.” These are the results from protecting natural resources like forests, wetlands, and farmlands.  Examples include cleaner air, drinkable water, flood protection, improved soil quality, and, according to the IEG, climate stability.

In other words, the air we breathe and water we drink will be monetized.

NACs have land management authority

According to the ruling, NACs have the authority to actively “conserve, restore, or sustainably manage” the lands over which they hold rights.  Non-regenerative use of resources such as mining for minerals, and oils is prohibited.

Without the rights to public and private lands, NACs could not exist. But why would anyone license away their rights? You may not have a choice.

Enrolling Public Lands

The transfer of public land rights can be done without the public’s permission.

The Biden administration’s actions show he is eager to enroll public lands in a NAC.

·         His 2021 “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law”  provided funding for the American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas which measures conservation and restoration progress on public and private lands.

·         In June of 2022 President Biden issued an Executive Memorandum instructing agencies to use the Atlas and other data to synthesize “connections between nature, climate, economy, and society.”

·         In January 2023 the administration released their  “National Strategy to Develop Statistics for Environmental Economic Decisions” which uses the accumulated data to create “Natural Capital Accounts.”  Biden’s accounting system is based on the UN’s System of Environmental Economic Accounting.  

During his first three years in office, the Biden administration used the Antiquities Act to  confiscate more than 24 million acres of public lands across the country.

Combined, these actions financialize and provide the means to fund the new NACs, a centerpiece of Biden’s climate change committed presidency.

Enrolling Private Lands

Private land that is part of a conservation easement can be transferred to a NAC without the landowner’s permission.

A Conservation Easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and a trust or government in which the landowner surrenders development rights in turn for a cash payment or forgiveness of a tax liability.

These agreements are generally permanent, though some older contracts sunset in 10 years. CEs are marketed as a method to reduce taxes and conserve the environment while the landowner retains most rights and can continue normal practices such as farming or cattle raising.  

However, the land trust, as the dominant rights holder, can transfer or sell their interest to a government or enroll the rights in a Natural Asset Company without the landowner’s permission.

Once enrolled in the NAC, the company can control how the land is managed and even how and if land may be farmed to meet high standards of “ecological performance.”

Nature Conservancy, a supporter of NACs is also one of the world’s largest land trusts and converts thousands of private farms to conservation easements. As of 2015, more than 16 million acres of U.S. land have been encumbered by land trusts through conservation easements.

ESG by any other name

At a time investors and the public are retreating from ESG compliant companies, NACs infuse massive capital into the scheme. While their website claims they are not an ESG fund, in a September 2021 interview, IEG Group CEO, Douglas Eger said,

“The work that's been done so far, which is fabulous in the pioneering work, was largely similar to an ESG.”

Who will invest in NACs? Again, from Eger:

 “The growing desire for sustainable investment ESG is difficult to find at scale. So as we've talked to investors, they're very interested in investments that move the needle on climate change on biodiversity, moving to a sustainable economy.”

It is clear there is little public demand for ESG and NAC type investments.

In the end, Natural Asset Companies are a stock scheme enabling elite climate progressives to gain control of public and private lands.

Tell the SEC your opinion

There has been tremendous public pushback against the NACs, including state financial officers from 22 states.  The SEC is taking comments up until January 18, 2024.

Tell the SEC you want to stop Natural Asset Companies.

You can submit your comments to the SEC before January 18, 2024.