Seychelles is facing financial constraint in protecting the Indian Ocean’s seagrass population in a bid to safeguard its natural carbon sinks, Bloomberg reports. The country requires an estimate of USD 61.3 mn per year for the next decade in support of its efforts to preserve seagrass meadows and other coastal habitats, but has a shortfall of USD 14.4 mn per year in meeting the financial requirements, according to the African Development Bank. Seychelles has approximately 12 species of seagrass covering 142k hectares which store 16.7 mn tons of organic carbon, equivalent to about 61 mn tons of CO2, Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust Chief Executive Officer Marie-May Jeremie told Bloomberg.

BP plans to increase investments in Germany's renewables and EV market: British energy giant BP plans to invest up to EUR 10 bn (USD 10.7 bn) in Germany's low carbon fuels, renewables, and electric vehicle EV charging, BP's board chairman Patrick Wendeler told Reuters. The plans include expanding BP’s existing local network of EV fast chargers, decarbonizing its refineries, developing wind power plants, and possibly a local hub to import low-carbon hydrogen. The new investment will include a EUR 678 mn payment toward the licenses BP won in July for Germany's offshore wind site tender. BP also plans to have up to 20k charging spots by 2030, Wendeler added.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• First round of Fukushima wastewater release is complete: Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi power plant has finalized the first safe release of treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean after it began discharging on August 24. The plant will carry out a facility inspection and cleaning before getting started with the second round in a few weeks. Japan has been facing fierce opposition from fishing groups and nations nearby to stop the process. (AP News)
• The US is on a path to halve CO2 emissions by 2030: The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has set the US on course to drop its CO2 emissions between 35-43% by 2030 from 2005 levels. The emissions should drop to a median of 3,300 MT from 6,130 MT. Electricity production emissions are set to drop by 49-83% by 2030, driven by the shift to renewable energy. (EPA report)