CANBERRA, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Australia's outgoing finance minister has backed a "green recovery" from the coronavirus crisis as he campaigns to lead the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Mathias Cormann, the longest-serving Minister for Finance in Australian history, told a virtual business conference organized by the German government that he supported pursuing "a green recovery with an increased reliance on renewables" in the wake of the pandemic.
It comes weeks after Prime Minister Scott Morrison nominated Cormann for the position of secretary-general of the Paris-based OECD following his decision to quit politics.
The OECD has previously been critical of Australia's efforts to prevent climate change.
Cormann, who previously celebrated repealing Australia's tax on carbon emissions, told the conference that the Asia-Pacific region had to "grasp the opportunities presented to us by this pandemic."
"Opportunities like the pursuit of an inclusive and future-focused recovery, including a green recovery with an increased reliance on renewables, improved energy efficiency, addressing climate change and accelerating the transition to a lower-emissions future," he said according to The Guardian.
"This year's once in a one hundred years global pandemic and the large scale capital asset renewal which will inevitably be part of the recovery effort does present a once in a lifetime opportunity to shape the type and quality of that recovery."
At the time of the announcement of his nomination, Cormann said that the Australian government's past record on climate policy would not be a barrier for his candidacy. Enditem
