Temperatures are rising in the Bella Center, expectations are weak, and anger is stewing, as the clock winds down toward some kind of climate agreement.
All of these acts, and others, work to downplay the central importance of the UN process, and to open up the entire field of climate change agreements to the forces of "politics as usual".
Similarly, the majority of registered voters (63%) oppose the United States' decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement, including 85% of Democrats and 58% of Independents, but only 38% of Republicans.
The US had earlier proposed a hybrid formula of a climate change agreement with some legally enforceable elements to try to overcome divisions about the nature of the climate change agreement being negotiated in Paris.
Nor could the Commonwealth say or do anything to improve the chances of a climate change agreement in Copenhagen.
"In this context, we support the conclusion of a climate change agreement in Paris that takes a strong step forward toward a low-carbon, sustainable future".
The two men are also likely to talk about Ukraine, the Paris climate change agreement, and, of course, North Korea.
Rousseff will have the opportunity to take the floor before the U.N. General Assembly in New York at the signing of the climate change agreement negotiated last year in Paris.
One of Trump's first acts will be to pull out of the Paris climate agreement and cut all climate funding to the UN.
Australia has warned against stripping the Paris climate agreement of ambition in order to get some kind of deal as negotiators met to consider yet another draft agreement.
It sounds like some of the sticking points from the first draft of the climate agreement have been resolved.
