This article is adapted from remarks the author made during a session — Impact & ESG Investing: The Path Ahead — at the recent Opal ESG and Impact Investing Forum in West Palm Beach, Florida. I believe that the ESG backlash — which is not at all surprising to me, having spent my career in sustainability work and environmental activism — is, to a not insignificant extent, a political red-herring. It is used to create political leverage and election talking points, and it has little to do with what ESG actually is and does. Moving beyond that key point, it is crucial…