As representatives of people from the developing world who are most affected by climate change, we are still fighting to ensure our voices are heard in Copenhagen. We are alarmed about the potential failure of the talks (Report, 15 December).

People in many of our countries in the global south are already experiencing the destructive effects of climate change. It is these people, who have not contaminated the planet, who hold the solutions in their hands. It is the rural farmers, indigenous, and the poor people of the world that can teach us how to sustain life on the planet through learning from and living in harmony with nature.

We urgently hope that in the few days left Copenhagen changes the status quo which continues to damage the natural world. We hope that the global north recognises its ecological debt to the world’s impoverished peoples; that it begins to repair our villages and ecosystems and reaches substantial agreements to ensure greenhouse gas emissions are curbed. Enough funds should be provided to southern countries to support this socio-environmental restoration: the climate debt to the world’s poor must be settled.

The Bella centre is a swirl of chatter, the streets of Copenhagen are a swirl of protest. Depending on what hour you listen to the news bulletin, the UN climate negotiations have “come off the rails” or are “back on track” or have “stalled” or are “moving swiftly”. Which is why the only people who really understand what’s going on may be a small crew of folks from a group of computer jockeys called Climate Interactive. Their software speaks numbers, not spin – and in the end it’s the numbers that count.

General view shows the opening ceremony of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 on December 7, 2009 in Copenhagen, Photograph: Miguel Villagran/Getty Images

The following correction was printed in the Guardian’s Corrections and clarifications column, Tuesday 15 December 2009

The story below said that 110 heads of state would be attending the Copenhagen summit on climate change. Rather, the 110 are a mix of heads of state and government.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams preaches during an ecumenical celebration in the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen. Photograph: Heribert Proepper/AP

People are so paralysed by fear and selfishness they cannot save the planet, the archbishop of Canterbury said on Sunday during a church service in Copenhagen.

Rowan Williams was preaching in the Danish capital as crucial UN climate change talks entered their second and final week.

He said that fear paralysed individuals, corporations and governments from making the choices needed to affect real and lasting change.