A former Australian finance minister chairs the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

Former Australian Finance Minister Matthias Corman has been appointed as the new Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Corman, whose five-year term will start on June 1, will replace Mexico’s Angel Gurria, who has spent 15 years at the helm of the organization.

The appointment came despite Korman criticizing his policies on combating climate change. He voted against an initiative that would have declared a climate emergency, called on students protesting against climate change to “go back to school” and repeatedly refused to take measures to reduce gas emissions.

Several activist groups are opposed to his appointment, including Greenpeace, which has described the appointment as a “missed opportunity.”

Korman will be the first leader in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to come from the Asia-Pacific region. He has promised that at the helm of the Paris-based foundation, he will promote “stronger, cleaner and fairer economic growth, while improving living standards” in the region despite the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic.

In addition, he promised to encourage “ambitious and effective action against climate change to reach a net number of zero emissions by 2050.”

Corman, 50, was born in Belgium but moved to Australia in the 1990s and was Australian Treasury Secretary between 2013 and 2020.