Sara: The pace is stepping up a little as we approach the beginning of Week 2 of this crucial summit. While adaptation (helping communities cope with the effects of climate change) is being talked about constantly across the conference halls here, there is so far a worryingly lack of signs that countries want hard commitment to adaptation in the post 2012 agreement that everyone hopes will emerge from this two weeks.
We in the lobby team of Tearfund, with partners, have set about our work in the past couple of days with renewed vigour, trying to overcome recent history which has treated adaptation as largely a separate and secondary issue, to that of cutting emissions (mitigation).
We are urging negotiators to see mitigation and adaptation as of equal importance. Quite simply, lives depend upon it.
As we talk to negotiators from many different countries, we are also pressing into their hands our latest report on adaptation - Adaptation and the Post-2012 Framework. It is proving a very useful means of putting our case. In it we point out that with no legally-binding obligation on developed countries to foot the bill for damage already done in vulnerable communities, adaptation will always be neglected. A big few days coming up as we try to get this across!
Herry: I had a fantastic day yesterday, meeting with media people from the developing world to talk about how we communicate issues of climate change and development.
The organisation that brought us together is Panos, The word 'panos' means torch or beacon in classical Greek. And a 'panas' is a Nepali word for a lamp, lit when people need to gather round and discuss an issue. It symbolises the principal aims of the Panos Institute when it was founded 20 years ago - to illuminate and provide insights from developing countries into issues facing us globally; and to stimulate informed, enlightened discussion around such issues. And so it proved when we met.
As media people we talked about how to communicate issues linked to climate change in a world where many people have never heard the phrase. And we discussed detailed issues like re-forestation and bio-fuels and the dangers that both of those suggested solutions to climate change carry their own significant dangers.
I am hoping that my radio station in Indonesia will become a partner with Panos, so that we can benefit from expertise in radio production, which we, in turn, can pass onto others.