Ubben Says BlackRock’s ESG Products Won’t Address Climate Change

Jeff Ubben, the ESG-minded activist investor who joined the board of Exxon Mobil Corp. this month, said BlackRock Inc.’s suite of passive environmental funds are “misguided” because they don’t reward carbon-intensive companies that are reducing emissions.

Buying exchange-traded funds with investments that score highly on environmental, social and governance metrics has “a very second or third derivative effect” on climate change, Ubben said Tuesday during a virtual conference hosted by Ceres, a non-profit investor network.

As the world’s largest shareholder, BlackRock is heavily invested in fossil fuels with top-three holdings in Exxon, Chevron Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc and ...