The tightest security yet seen at a UN climate-change summit was put in place by German police yesterday as delegates from more than 160 countries began arriving. They are here for talks on how to implement the Kyoto Protocol.
But the prospect of reaching agreement has been put in doubt even before the formal sessions get under way, with the EU accusing the US of working behind the scenes to persuade other countries to stall on ratification.
All eyes are on Japan, which has been sending out mixed signals about whether it intends to ratify the protocol without US participation. The Japanese delegation will be outlining its position this afternoon.
Environmental groups closely monitoring the talks have called on Japan to abandon any attempts to placate the US by seeking to amend the protocol's targets and timetables for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
They have also appealed to the US President, Mr Bush, to honour a promise he made to EU leaders at their summit in Gothenburg last May that the US would not obstruct other countries reaching agreement in Bonn.
The conference is being held at Hotel Maritim, in the former federal government quarter. It is surrounded by barriers and everyone who attempts to get through must produce accredited identity badges.
An extra 2,000 police are on duty to deal with anti-globalisation protests. "Bonn isn't going to be another Gothenburg or another Salzberg. If there are acts of violence we will react appropriately," a police spokesman said.
Police vans are lined up in nearby streets in case there is trouble.
So far, the only action was a colourful protest yesterday involving hundreds of cyclists, organised by Rising Tide, one of the more militant campaign groups.
The additional security in Bonn is also designed to prevent a repetition of farcical scenes at the failed climate talks in The Hague last November, when environmental activists photo copied passes to disrupt the proceedings.
Greenpeace has installed an inflatable Planet Earth, six metres high, outside the conference centre alongside 24 television screens showing interviews with victims of floods, hurricanes and other climate-related disasters.
Yesterday evening, the Climate Action Network, which normally presents a "Fossil of the Day" award to whatever country it perceives is blocking progress, dished out a special "Fossil of the Century" award to President Bush.
Apart from such theatrical gestures, the mood at the conference is grim. Indeed, almost nobody in Bonn expects that agreement will be reached on measures to implement the protocol's legally binding cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
