Opinion | ESG Threat Goes Beyond BlackRock

Larry Fink can’t catch a break. He’s chairman and CEO of BlackRock, the largest investment manager in the world, with $8.5 trillion of assets under management. In the battle over sustainable investing and the spread of environmental, social and governance policies across Wall Street, both sides are gunning for him.

Red-state governors and Republican attorneys general—many from oil- and gas-producing states—have attacked Mr. Fink as the leading industry spokesman for ESG, which they view as an elaborate cover for the climate-change movement and a backdoor means of reducing carbon emissions by starving the energy industry of investment capital. Using a shoot-the-messenger approach, 19 states have publicly called BlackRock on the carpet with regard to ESG. Texas and West Virginia are already starting to claw back state business from the company.