Today: The Chinese leader called the transition to low-carbon energy the trend of our time; companies are saying less, doing more on climate risk; cheap clean energy now trumps climate politics, says Paris accord architect.

Welcome back: Chinese leader Xi Jinping took an indirect jab at President Trump and criticized countries that are turning away from the fight against global warming as he presented a new plan to cut greenhouse-gas emissions under the Paris accord, the WSJ's Matthew Dalton reports. 

In a video message to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, Xi said that the “green and low-carbon transition is the trend of our time ... While some countries are acting against it, the international community should stay focused in the right direction."

His remarks came a day after Trump called climate change a “con job” and said renewable energy and migration were destroying Western countries.

The speech showed the sharply diverging attitude of U.S. and Chinese leadership toward clean energy and climate change. China has emerged as the dominant manufacturer of clean-energy technologies and a defender of the Paris accord, the international climate agreement signed a decade ago.

• The U.S. abandoned climate leadership. Can India step up? (Bloomberg)

Companies in New York for Climate Week say their environmental efforts are good for business, even as the current administration rejects such measures, WSJ Pro Sustainable Business's Clara Hudson reports.

Businesses are wrestling with pressure to reach their ambitious climate goals—many of which were made without a real plan on how to pull it off—said Tim Mohin, director and partner at Boston Consulting Group. He spoke yesterday on a panel hosted by Dow Jones Risk Journal.

“There was this period where we thought we’re all going to try to reach for the stars, and so we’re pulling back now,” Mohin said. “We’re saying what really creates value, how does it create value, saying less, doing more.”

Businesses across industries have been shying away from talking about sustainability or climate efforts, removing statements about the environment from their websites and investor filings, for example. The withdrawal comes amid the Trump administration’s wave of environmental policy changes, including a now-nixed Securities and Exchange Commission effort that would have required climate risk disclosure.

• Climate Week should be a time to reflect on the effectiveness of various climate strategies. (R Street)

Offshore wind remains an important part of a diverse energy mix [and] offers a level of reliability that we expect from baseload resources, with capacity factors equal to new natural gas plants. We just saw this with recently released performance data from the South Fork Wind project. 
Hillary Bright, executive director, Turn Forward

Energy demand is skyrocketing worldwide. A broad portfolio of energy solutions ... is ready to quickly, affordably and sustainably meet this demand growth while bolstering energy security and resiliency.
Lisa Jacobson, President, Business Council for Sustainable Energy

At this year’s NYCW, food waste emerged as a headline theme. Supply chain operations can be changed quickly if we focus our efforts ... this is where I believe the real opportunity lies.
Mike Colarossi, head of enterprise sustainability, Avery Dennison

There’s a growing recognition that no one company can solve the problem of plastic waste alone. Progress requires collaboration across the value chain and a shared understanding of priorities. Circularity isn’t just about sustainability—it’s about business stability.
Jonathan Quinn, CEO, U.S. Plastics Pact

Wind, solar and other forms of clean energy are slowly becoming more dominant the world over, says former United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres, WSJ Pro Sustainable Business's Yusuf Khan writes. 

As Climate Week draws to a close, one of the takeaways will be that clean energy is no longer niche, but cheap and now abundant—a fact delegates can take with them as they head to the U.N. climate conference in Brazil this fall.

For Figueres, this new reality should help with negotiations at COP. “Climate economics is the pull factor of the transition and of the transformation,” she said, adding that the political argument for climate investment is now being set aside because of the sharply falling costs of clean energy. “In a world in which market forces have taken over ... geopolitics falls to a second priority,” Figueres said.

• Wall Street is turning traditional climate finance into a pitch about energy security and AI. (Bloomberg)

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• Levi Strauss launches program with Schneider Electric to deploy renewable energy in its supply chain. (ESG Today)
   
• European sales of Chinese auto giant BYD tripled in August, a sign that customers are embracing its lineup of electric vehicles. (WSJ)
   
• Honda said it would stop producing its Acura ZDX electric SUV to better align with customer needs and market conditions. (WSJ)
   
• How Microsoft and Unilever turned climate adaptation into a competitive advantage. (Trellis)
   
• Donald Trump’s administration is pressuring the World Bank to fund more fossil fuel projects. (FT)
   
• Utility bills are getting costly and catching the attention of politicians, meaning unpleasant surprises could be building for investors. (WSJ)
   
• Norway's oil fund to buy stake in electricity transmission system operator TenneT Germany for $5.3 billion, boosting renewables. (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.