by Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor on (#5F2SQ)
Support for Australian ex-minister with poor record on climate crisis would send ‘terrible message’The UK has been warned not to send a dreadful message to the rest of the world by backing a controversial Australian former minister with a much-criticised climate change record to run the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.The race to be the next secretary-general of the OECD – the Paris-based economic thinktank that advises governments across the world – has narrowed to Mathias Cormann, the former Australian finance minister, and Cecilia Malmström, the former EU trade commissioner and Swedish centrist politician. The result is due by 15 March.Related: 'Not a suitable candidate': climate groups urge OECD not to appoint Mathias Cormann as next headRelated: Mathias Cormann: the OECD candidate who helped destroy Australia’s carbon-trading scheme Continue reading...