Obama’s emissions plan needs tweaking, E.U. climate chief says. Stavros Dimas, an E.U. commissioner, warned that President Obama’s goals to cut emissions over the next decade may not be ambitious enough to meet long-term targets. Under the plan, the U.S. would cut emissions by only 1.5 percent each year. [News Source]

The writing on the wall. The number of planned coal plants across America has plummeted from 150 to 60 in the past five years. Yet more than 600 coal-fired plants still produce about half of America’s power and will still produce 47% of it in 2030. But the government has pledged to slash greenhouse-gas emissions by 80% by 2050. [News Source]

Warming - it’s a health hazard. "Climate change will affect, in profoundly adverse ways, some of the most fundamental determinants of health: food, air, water," the director-general of the World Health Organisation, Margaret Chan, says. [News Source]

In need of a miracle. Australian winegrowers have learnt to cope with crises--but none as grave as the one they face now. Their water source at the mouth of the Murray River has become salty. So now, a new body charged with saving Australia’s biggest river system from expiring, has its work cut out. [News Source]

Shrimp like canaries in coal mine, indicating health of stocks, water temperature. Shrimp can provide valuable insight into broad changes in the marine ecosystem, according to a new study that found the spindly crustaceans serve as canaries in the coal mine when it comes to warming waters and the health of fish stocks. [News Source]

Shell’s sustainability plan emphasizes biofuels, CCS. Royal Dutch Shell PLC plans to focus its "clean energy" efforts on biofuels and developing carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology while pulling back from investments in solar and wind, Shell's CEO said today. [News Source]

Indonesia forest CO2 rules need finance clarity: experts. The world's first rules for generating tradeable carbon credits from protecting forests were a good start but Indonesia needed to clear up doubts over the government's share of the revenues, analysts and industry said Friday. [News Source]

Groups to protest climate ‘failure.’ Unions and green groups have formed an alliance with churches and other community organisations to protest against what they say is the Rudd government's failure on climate action. [News Source]

Gov’t faces Saturday deadline on polar bear rule. The Obama administration has until Saturday to rescind a Bush administration rule preventing the Endangered Species Act from protecting polar bears that are threatened with extinction from the melting of Arctic sea ice due to global warming. [News Source]

Java most vulnerable to climate change: Study. A study released by the Singapore-based Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA) has revealed Indonesia's most populated island of Java is the most vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change. [News Source]

Environmental pollution in Arab countries will increase: Report. Challenges facing Arab countries especially in fresh water scarcity, desertification and, air and marine pollution, will increase because of climate change implications, according to the Arab Environment Future Challenges Report. [News Source]