Mathias Cormann, Secretary-General of the OECD, was in Budapest
OECD Secretary-General Mr. Mathias Cormann paid a one-and-a-half-day working visit to Budapest on 29-30 November 2021. On the occasion of providing a speech at the opening panel of Planet Budapest 2021 Sustainability World Summit and of the 25th anniversary of Hungary's accession, the Secretary-General met with President Mr. János Áder, Prime Minister Mr. Viktor Orbán, Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Mihály Varga and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Mr. Péter Szijjártó.
The Secretary-General laid special emphasis on the need to reduce carbon emissions and to ensure a global level playing field in his opening speech at Planet Budapest 2021 Sustainability World Summit. In his view, ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) rating systems controlling carbon leakage is to be more efficient with the use of coherent and transparent systems (taxonomies) as good investment decisions are exclusively based upon them. OECD would facilitate this, inter alia, by developing appropriate ESG definitions and guidelines similar to the standards and guidelines evolved under the auspices of Responsible Business Conduct in the OECD Guidelines and in the sector specific recommendations. Synchronicity of reducing carbon emissions and creating a global level playing field can only be achieved through responsible business practices.