Profound change needed on climate

“Be it by political conviction or electoral convenience, leaders need to think big and act bigger”, said OECD SecretaryGeneral Angel Gurría, as he urged governments to take climate action seriously, in a major speech in Geneva in July. Mr Gurría asked leaders to set aside “short termism” and to honour climate commitments by taking steps “to put a meaningful price on carbon, to phase out state support for fossil fuels, and to stop burning coal”.

Read the full speech, “Climate: Reclaiming our Future” here: http://www.oecd. org/environment/cc/climate-lecturereclaiming-our-common-future.pdf

AI principles also affirmed at G20 summit

Speaking to G20 leaders during the summit in Osaka, Japan, in June, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría said the pr ofound impact of the digital revolution on our societies required common policies and welcomed their endorsement of the G20 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Principles. These are based largely on consultations led by the OECD, whose AI Principles were adopted at the ann ual OECD Ministerial Council Meeting in May, while drawing up its own principles. “You are affirming that the AI we want is centred on people, respects ethical and democratic values, is transparent, safe and accountable,” Mr Gurría said.

Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan

For more on the OECD AI Principles, see https://www.oecd.org/going-digital/ai/principles/

Mali and the OECD

Prime Minister of Mali Boubou Cissé with OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría on 11 September. The prime minister and the secretary-general explored opportunities for Mali to benefit from the organisation’s expertise, in particular the OECD Development Centre, and to deepen co-operation (see www.oecd.org/ development). See also, “Mali: Why everyone should care about its future”, by Erik Solheim, in OECD Observer, Oct 2015, https://oe.cd/obs/2Uh