Interview: World leaders must act for reaching global climate deal "now or never", says Copenhagen mayor

Copenhagen Mayor Frank Jensen Thursday called on world leaders to act to slow down the worrying global warming, saying "it is now or never to reach a global agreement."

"I am going to take this opportunity to speak loudly that leaders on national level must take the responsibility to reach a global climate agreement," the Copenhagen mayor told Xinhua in an exclusive interview ahead of his trip to Paris on Dec. 3 for the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference, or COP21.

"We have to act. The heads of states cannot continue talking about climate changes without doing anything. We have to act concretely against the climate change, that is what we are doing everyday as city leaders," Jensen said.

COPENHAGEN AS A MODEL

Copenhagen is considered one of the most livable cities in the world. Now it is used by C40 Cities, a network of the world's megacities committed to addressing climate change, as a benchmark to showcase how to transform cities to be more sustainable and greener.

Jensen recalled that when he was young, Copenhagen was heated with petrol in winter. Now energy-efficient district heating systems are widely used in Copenhagen as well as across Denmark.

Copenhagen launched its carbon neutrality scheme in 2009, aiming to become the world's first complete carbon neutral city by 2025. Jensen said the city is right on the track, reducing CO2 emission by 45 percent from 1995 to 2014.

"It makes Copenhagen in the frontline of cities going green and makes the city more livable," the mayor said.

He noted, however, that many countries are still worried about the slowdown of the economic growth as a result of "going green."

"It is not necessarily so," Jensen said. "I am going to bring a very important message to the heads of states and leaders of the world that you can make this transformation of our society to be greener and more sustainable, and at the same time create a lot of new jobs and have a good economy."

"When we invested in our district heating system in Copenhagen, it created a lot of jobs, and it was a good business case for the city and its citizens," he added.

Today, 98 percent of all houses in Copenhagen are linked to the district heating system, according to the mayor.

"It gives better air quality, and it is much cheaper for Copenhageners to heat their apartments today than it was 25 years ago," Jensen said.

"It is not only a possibility to go green, it is also a must because we cannot continue conflicting with the climate. We must admit that we are living in a way that CO2 gives us a bad climate situation," he stressed.

Jensen said he is very optimistic about the outcome of the Paris climate conference, which aims to achieve a new international agreement on climate change, applicable to all, to keep global warming below 2 Celsius degrees.

"I think the world leaders have realized that it is now or never to make a climate agreement, which will prevent our planet temperature from rising over 2 degrees."

He said big nations like China and the United States will play a very big role in the climate negotiations.

"If the two nations, China and the United States, go in the front, it will be possible to reach an international agreement, because they will take the rest of the world with them," Jensen said.

KNOWLEDGE SHARING AMONG CITIES

For the first time in the upcoming Paris climate conference, cities are recognized by the United Nations for their work in combating climate change.

Jensen said cities around the globe should step up collaboration and cooperation to share knowledge, technologies and solutions for a better climate.

He cited the two cities of Copenhagen and Beijing as an example, noting that Beijing is trying to learn from Copenhagen about its advanced drinking water management as well as the district heating system, while Copenhagen is testing electric buses from Beijing in its own public transport system.

Copenhagen and Beijing have witnessed a closer relationship and intensified cooperation since they became "sister cities" in 2012, Jensen said.

"That is how cities can learn from each other. We don't have to innovate the same way in every city, but we can learn from others by sharing ideas, visions and concrete solutions," he said. Endi