Interview: Europe expects legally-binding agreement at Paris COP 21: MEP Jo Leinen

The European Union expects to see a protocol reached at the upcoming 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP 21), Jo Leinen, member of European Parliament (MEP) who represents the German Social Democratic Party, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview here on Thursday.

"That means a legally-binding global agreement to tackle this really huge challenge of climate change," the MEP underlined, "The damages (caused by climate change) would hit, in one way or the other, every country and every population, so we have a common interest to succeed in Paris."

Leinen, a former minister for environment in the state government of Saarland, Germany, has been promoting environmental protection and calling for global efforts to tackle climate change since he was elected as MEP in 1999. From 2009 to 2011, he chaired the European Parliament's committee on environment.

COP 21 is scheduled to take place in Paris from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11, where governments of more than 190 countries will gather to discuss a new climate agreement.

On global collaborations, Leinen said some instruments were in place but needed to be further implemented, citing technology transfer as an example.

"We need clean technologies. We need modern technologies that should not be staying in one country but should transfer quite quickly all around the world," he explained. "We can learn from best practices where things have worked quite well -- for example, sustainable cities."

There are cities that can provide experience in managing energy consumption, transport system and the waste system, said Leinen. "So I think urbanization and green cities are good examples for cooperation."

Another big issue is promoting renewable energies, he added. "There is a lot that is done, but there's a lot more that has to be done. We have to de-carbonize our industry and our society. We have to move on from fossil fuels and go more towards non-fossil fuel energies."

Leinen, the current chair of the Delegation for Relations with China of the European Parliament, commended China's active role in the fight against climate change.

"I'm really happy that the Chinese government is part of the efforts to look for common ways in order to reduce emissions, to show solidarity with the poorer parts of the world, and at the end to stabilize the atmosphere because the eco-system belongs to all of us," he said.

On China-EU relations, the MEP noted the two sides were strategic partners with several common goals.

"We have to modernize links between Europe and China, from maritime links to cyber links," said Leinen, adding the investment plan proposed by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and the Belt and Road Initiative by Chinese President Xi Jinping should come together and connect.

"That, I think, would be a fantastic opportunity to merge our capacities to build infrastructure," he said. Endit