WASHINGTON, District of Columbia — West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore, who recently announced a congressional run in 2024, told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview that Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policies are going to lead to the “destruction of the fossil fuel industry.”

Moore, the first Republican state treasurer in West Virginia in 92 years after being elected in 2020, said that the “simplest and most straightforward way” to explain how bad ESG policies are is that it would be “the destruction of the fossil fuel industry” in West Virginia and that Americans are paying for it through skyrocketing inflation.

ESG policies are a form of leftist activism in financial investing that has become the latest vector to influence the way Wall Street financial firms and corporations continue to take social and political positions that do not relate to their business, such as stances associated with climate change, as well as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) agenda. Wall Street firms, such as BlackRock, for example, sell ESG as a way to invest according to specific criteria that the political left pushes on voters and consumers.

The exclusive interview with Breitbart News happened shortly before he was awarded the “Consumer Champion Award” from the Consumers’ Research for his “unceasing defense of WV consumers from those using the excuse of ESG to threaten their livelihoods” at the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF) conference last week, where state treasurers from across the country launched their strategy against ESG policies.

The West Virginia treasurer explained that the “destruction of the fossil fuel industry” raises the price of gas, which creates a domino effect on everything that travels on trucks, trains, and any other form of transportation.

“It all travels on trucks, and trains and all this other stuff. So it means it’s costing you money. It also means that we are subsidizing this leftist social experiment on this through inflation, and through investments, and or pardon me, through our retirement accounts as well,” he stated.

Earlier this year, Moore became one of the leading voices against financial firms pushing ESG policies into their lending decisions and led a 16-state coalition to fight back against the divestment movement. West Virginia was also the first state to pull investment funds from places — such as BlackRock — that embrace “net zero” investment strategies, which would ultimately hurt the state’s fossil fuel industry.

Politico noted a “slew of anti-ESG bills circulating in state legislatures around the country” following the multiple-state coalition. One example is West Virginia, which passed Senate Bill 262 that ultimately allowed Moore, as the state’s treasurer, to “publish a list of companies believed to be engaging in ‘energy boycotts’ and bar them from winning state banking contracts.”

“When I go around the state… I urge each individual go back home … [and] whoever your financial advisor is, ‘am I invested in ESG in my retirement accounts,'” he said, explaining how many people are surprised to find out they are and that they can take “individual action” as well.

Moore further explained that financial advisors that want you to invest in places that consider ESG policies “want to destroy the industries that not only power our state [West Virginia] and the country, but also provide jobs and tax revenue, and is our way of life… I get messages all the time from constituents all over the state of West Virginia that have moved out of this fund or that fund.”

Moore, the newly announced congressional candidate, added that as the state treasurer, he’s been focused on “human flourishing,” while he has been up against people that want to concentrate on ESG policies “focused on… limiting human impact on the globe.”

“They want to have less of us, not more of us, that by their own admission, they have said the way that renewable energy is going to be ‘sustainable’ in the economy in the grid is to have essentially less humans on the planet,” he added. “And World Economic Forum has said that, and everybody else who was put these ideas forward has talked about that — this is control. This is all about control. It’s all about control. It’s not about human flourishing. It’s not about outcomes for individuals. It’s not about the maximization of human potential for the working class people of my state and around the country.”

On Monday, when he announced his bid for the state’s Second Congressional District, Moore said he would be a fighter “for American energy against woke corporate activism.” He aims to replace Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV), who currently represents the congressional district but has also announced a bid to oust Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) in 2024.

Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.