Poland in the OECD

On October 22nd, Poland has put forward the candidacy of its Minister of Climate and Environment, Michał Kurtyka, for the post of the Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for the 2021-2026 tenure.

Mr. Kurtyka is best described by his unique ability to build consensus - as COP 24 President he led all 196 Parties to successful adoption of the Katowice Rulebook enabling the implementation of the Paris Agreement. Elected Chairman of IEA 2019 Ministerial, he contributed to the adoption of, first in ten years, IEA Ministerial Communiqué which managed to reconcile very different expectations of Member states. Mr. Kurtyka was also chairing IEA works in 2016-2017 when it delivered “Long Term Financial Health” reform that assured sustainable financial security of the Agency.

To navigate the turmoil of the post-Covid recovery Mr. Kurtyka proposed the implementation of the New Growth agenda and called for Members’ actions not being remedial only. “Even in the midst of the crisis, we need to think beyond the immediate and enhance resilience against future shocks”, Mr. Kurtyka said.

A process to select the next Secretary-General of the OECD will commence on November 1^st and is to conclude by March 1^st 2021.