Today: The climate impact of fast fashion is on the rise; a robot startup is raising funds to tackle farm weeds; air conditioning is a hot topic in Europe.

Welcome back: Fossil fuel-derived virgin polyester makes up 57% of total global fiber production, contributing to growing greenhouse-gas emissions from the apparel industry, a new industry report shows.

This jump in emissions–up 7.5% in 2023–is the first year-over-year increase since the Apparel Impact Institute began issuing its annual report in 2019, WSJ Pro Sustainable Business's Clara Hudson writes.

The apparel sector made up 2% of the world’s total greenhouse-gas emissions in 2023, with the jump fueled by fast-fashion production and as the share of more-expensive recycled fabric fell. Some companies are trying to curb the industry’s pollution, investing in recycled leather and using AI to guide made-to-order methods that cut waste.

• Fashion Brands Face New Skepticism on Green Claims
• Shein to Address Fashion Industry Waste Ahead of Potential Listing
• Fashion Is in My Blood. But So Is Sustainability. What Do I Do?

A robotics startup is raising funds to tackle an increasingly serious problem for farmers: herbicide-resistant weeds, Meg Tanaka writes for WSJ Pro.

Redmond, Wash.-based Aigen builds lightweight, solar-powered robots that use artificial intelligence to distinguish between weeds and crops. Unlike most weeding machines, the robots operate without the use of chemicals and remove weeds with precision tools. The company is raising $10 million, following a $19 million Series A announced in 2023.

Weeding has emerged as a surprisingly hot topic within agtech, attracting significant investment because of its critical role in agricultural productivity and the potential for substantial cost savings. Automation is a key driver, with a particular emphasis on removing weeds early in their growth cycle to prevent them from competing with crops, as well as using fewer herbicides.

• Sustainable Agriculture Gets a Push From Big Corporations
• Drones, AI and Robot Pickers: Meet the Fully Autonomous Farm
• Combining Solar Power With Farming Is Getting Easier

Rising temperatures have softened Europe’s resistance to air conditioning and touched off a new political fight about the wisdom of installing the technology everywhere, U.S.-style, the WSJ's Matthew Dalton writes.

A heat wave that hit Western Europe in June and July spurred a run on air conditioners in appliance stores across the region. The scorching temperatures came unusually early, before many Europeans had a chance to decamp to the beach for summer vacation, exposing vulnerabilities in the cities where most people live. More than 1,000 French schools closed partially or completely because they lacked air conditioning.

Extreme heat is the biggest climate-change danger facing Europe, marring the continent’s once-mild summers with heat waves that are becoming more frequent and intense. Adapting to it is expected to require huge investments and a major shift in European attitudes toward air conditioning, which many have long regarded as a luxury that Americans use to excess.

• Temperatures Are Higher, but Companies Don’t Want to Talk About It
• Rising Temperatures Drive Surge in Energy Demand
• Air Conditioning and AI Are Demanding More of the World’s Power

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• Elon Musk is encouraging investors to look past Tesla’s poor financials and focus on recent achievements with robots and robotaxis. (WSJ)
   
• Australian miner Fortescue said it has canceled green hydrogen projects as the Trump administration cuts support for clean energy. (WSJ)
   
• Google’s ambitious plans to power its data centers directly with low-carbon electricity now includes hydropower. (Trellis)
   
• Deutsche Bank recorded its strongest sustainable finance quarter in four years, according to the bank’s quarterly results. (ESG Today)
   
• The bankrupt city of Chester in Pennsylvania is in a battle over one of its most valuable assets—the city’s water system. (WSJ)
   
• Lawmakers have subpoenaed JPMorgan and Bank of America over their role in the IPO of Chinese battery giant CATL. (WSJ)
   
• AI demand is driving record costs for electricity supplies in the largest U.S. market. (FT)
   
• Avalanche Energy has secured a $10 million grant to test micro-fusion reactors. (Heatmap)
   
• A Texas emergency management official said forecasts didn’t reveal the magnitude of the floods that killed more than 130 people. (WSJ)

WSJ Pro Sustainable Business gives you an inside look at how companies are tackling sustainability. Send comments to bureau chief Perry Cleveland-Peck at perry.cleveland-peck@wsj.com and reporters Clara Hudson at clara.hudson@wsj.com and Yusuf Khan at yusuf.khan@wsj.com. Follow us on LinkedIn at wsjperry, clara-hudson and yusuf_khan.