Washington, DC, Feb. 10, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Hemp Association (NHA), collaborating with experts to find ways of attracting billions of dollars of private sector investment into the US hemp industry, presented a proposal to Treasury official John Morton, Climate Counselor to Janet Yellin, that calls for the establishment of new Sustainable Asset Class. This proposed new financial instrument could bring potential tax incentives not only to achieve NHA’s goals for hemp, but for the entire global climate challenge.
Mr. Morton agreed to review the proposal with his officials within their responsibilities at the Treasury. The proposal outlines how the establishment of a new federally regulated, tradable asset class—be it dubbed sustainable, ecological, natural or regenerative—that places financial value on stored carbon, ecosystems, biodiversity, new agriculture and climate function will make way for a myriad of available climate crises solutions to become financially viable. “Mr. Morton also encouraged us to continue working with the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and Congressional leadership,” said NHA Chair Geoff Whaling.
In the presentation, NHA highlighted similar efforts and discussions moving likeminded financial and tax incentives forward. “Addressing the climate challenges of our planet is not an exclusive effort,” said Whaling. Sustainable Assets under NHA’s proposal will provide investors with the opportunity to build equity, earn dividends, and exit with capital gains. All returns will be driven by qualitative and quantitative improvements in ecosystems and their function. The private sector has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to move faster than governments, and the private sector possesses the only pool of capital large enough to fund our critical transition to a green economy underpinned by ecological assets.
Substantial investment capital is urgently needed to protect and enhance municipal water sources, protect communities from flooding, wildfires and intense weather events, reduce atmospheric greenhouse gases, introduce new agricultural practices and bio-based solutions for energy and fuel, mobility, food, consumer products and our built environment, and establish regenerative supply chains. For investors, this asset class will create a profitable pathway to participate in resolving our ecological crises while simultaneously moving money away from assets and companies that drive these crises. The creation of this asset class will allow financial systems to employ many of the tools and instruments currently in use and in development, such as bonds, loans, futures, options, and indexes to finance, insure, and generate a return from ecological assets, further accelerating innovative solutions to global climate crises.
Hemp Can Help
Geoff Whaling, Chair, National Hemp Association said, “Industrial hemp related businesses are ideal candidates for sustainable asset status. Returning one of the most useful and sustainable crops to global farmlands, one that can disrupt or displace everything produced by fossil fuels— and while doing so can address climate challenges, advance global rural development, and create a new trillion-dollar sustainable economy—will be no small task. Add that other commodities have had an 85-year advantage of access to technology and funding by governments. It will take a financial instrument that can generate trillions of dollars. The current marketplace and strained governments cannot support such progressive requirements.”
-30-
About the National Hemp Association:
NHA is a non-profit corporation, based in Washington D.C. with more than 50,000 supporters and members, is dedicated to the development of the domestic hemp industry. This goal will be attained by coordinating legislation, agricultural organizations, farmers, processors, manufacturers, and retailers. The promotion of the hemp industry is congruent with the desire to improve the environment through production and utilization of hemp farming and products. We see a direct relationship between the products we use and stewardship of the land. www.nationalhempassociation.org
Attachment
