On Thursday negotiations were going on in contact groups, i.e. most of them were closed to observer groups. In the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-Term Cooperative Action the negotiating text that was developed in the last round of negotiation in Tianjin (China) was further worked on. Some negotiators expect that on Saturday a new negotiating text will be distributed in order to prepare the high level segment next year. In a briefing of observer organizations, the Chair of the Group, Mrs. Mukahanana-Sangarwe, stated that the group on MRV is promising and shows some progress, while financing and the "shared vision" group are challenging. During the briefing the ICLEI's registry of city emissions (www.carbonn.org) was welcomed very much.

In the evening, the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development convened a side event on "Innovative Responses to Climate Change in Urban Service Delivery". At the event, mayors from Copenhagen and Nantes, which are best practice examples for sustainable mobility and just participated at the World Mayors Summit on Climate in Mexico City on 21 November 2010, highlighted the role of cities in combatting climate change. In addition, Daniel Bongardt (GTZ) spoke on the role of transport in (a) serving as a key for sustainable development especially for giving access to jobs and markets for the poor and (b) at the same time reducing GHG emissions. He referred to the role of climate financing to trigger a shift of domestic streams of finance in the transport sector. For further information on climate finance for sustainable transport, please see the new report of the Bridging the Gap Initiative on climate finance (Download here)