In theory, the world’s governments have over seven months to craft a new treaty to slow climate change before a deadline set by the United Nations. But in practice, points out Yvo de Boer, head of the UN agency that monitors the current Kyoto protocol, only a few weeks of scheduled negotiations remain.

Yet with America’s tree-hugging new leadership in place, and with a green stimulus suddenly in vogue, the outlook for a deal at the climate jamboree in Copenhagen at the end of the year has brightened somewhat. So it was with keen anticipation that the first of a series of preparatory pow-wows opened last week in Bonn.

The numbing proceedings of the (drum roll, please) First Meeting of the Fifth Session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Co-operative Action under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change jolted to life at the first speech by an American envoy since Barack Obama replaced the climate-insouciant George Bush as president. “We are very glad to be back, we want to make up for lost time and we are seized with the urgency of the task before us,” said Todd Stern, America’s negotiator, to loud applause.

But the rapture soon subsided, as differences re-emerged over how fast and far countries should cut their greenhouse-gas emissions. Mr Stern stuck to Mr Obama’s proposal that America should trim its emissions back to the level of 1990 by 2020. That was not enough for some 70 poor and low-lying countries, most faced with rising waters and withering crops. They said rich countries should reduce their emissions to 45% below 1990’s output by then. Mr Stern muttered about pragmatism. Poor countries retorted that they did not see floods or famine as pragmatic options. On the knotty but crucial question of how to reduce deforestation and the emissions it causes, progress was scanty.

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