Yesterday the climate talks in Copenhagen saw governments set out their opening negotiating positions, with developing countries unsurprisingly calling for more cash in climate aid and pledges of deeper cuts by developed countries.
But today the real work begins.
The corridors in the vast Bella Centre where the talks are being conducted seem a little emptier today as officials duck into informal, closed meetings where most of the real negotiations are taking place.
Where yesterday the shadow of “climategate” - the incident which saw hacked emails from UK climate scientists leaked to the global media - was tangible, today there is guarded optimism over the news that the US’s Environmental Protection Agency has declared greenhouses gases a “danger to human health”. This will give the EPA a mandate to regulate the gases without legislation from the US Congress, where President Obama’s plans to tackle climate change are currently floundering.
Whether this will give Obama a stronger negotiating hand when he arrives at the talks next week however is debatable.
While the UN and EU have officially welcomed the move, the US delegates I have spoken to are sceptical it will influence the outcome here in Copenhagen.
It seems most delegates no longer want signals of intent; they want to see tangible and comparable commitments - and without the backing of Congress, Obama's hands are tied.