" "BIOGRAPHYAngel Gurría is the Secretary-General of theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation andDevelopment (OECD). He came to the OECDfollowing a distinguished career in public service,including two ministerial posts. As Mexico's Minister of Foreign Affairs fromDecember 1994 to January 1998, Mr Gurría madedialogue and consensus-building one of thehallmarks of his approach to global issues. FromJanuary 1998 to December 2000, he was Mexico'sMinister of Finance and Public Credit. For the firsttime in a generation, he steered Mexico's economythrough a change of Administration without arecurrence of the financial crises that had previouslydogged such changes.As OECD's Secretary-General, since June 2006, MrGurría has reinforced the OECD's role as a "hub" forglobal dialogue and debate on economic policy issueswhile pursuing internal modernisation and reform. PRE-MEXICO REVIEW121AT THE OECD,WE BELIEVE IT IS POSSIBLE TOTACKLE CLIMATECHANGE ANDGROW THE ECONOMY AT THE SAME TIME Change Expert Group meetings for negotiators and arecent OECD workshop on global carbon marketswhich shed new light on how to build up a globalmarket through direct linking of emissions tradingschemes and building capacity to establish carbonmarkets in different national contexts.A key issue in international discussions will beensuring that the agreed finance is forthcoming. Weneed to set the right price for carbon and send the rightsignals to encourage private investment to support alow-carbon economy. Raising the necessary financingwill not be easy, but it can be done. For example,recent OECD analysis found that the proper mix ofpolicies to price carbon could reduce emissions by 20per cent in developed countries by 2020 and raiserevenues worth as much as 2.5 per cent of their GDP.There will be many competing demands for theserevenues, but a fraction of that amount would beenough to supply the public money to reach the levelsof financing agreed in the Copenhagen Accord.We are also advancing policy and implementation ofcost-effective adaptation to climate change. We havestepped up work on how to integrate adaptation into allaspects of economic development, including how toassist developing countries to make their future moreresilient to impacts of climate change. Equally,adaptation is essential in OECD countries. We areworking with them to compare progress and monitorgood practice in the design and implementation ofadaptation strategies.In addition, the OECD is advancing policy options tostimulate innovation, from the early stages oftechnology development through to diffusion andtransfer. Easy and rapid access to technologies thatcan support both climate adaptation and mitigationwill be critical to ensuring timely and effective actionin developing countries. We are also looking at ways tobetter inform consumer and industry choices, andworking with all levels of governments to identify anddisseminate good policy practices to reduce emissionsand adapt to climate change.As we exit the financial crisis, many countries arefacing social and economic challenges. At the OECD,we believe that it is possible to tackle climate changeand grow the economy at the same time. Over thecoming years, through our Green Growth Strategy, wewill focus our efforts on helping governments to realisethe potential of the green economy, including how todeal cost-effectively with climate change.I trust the OECD's fact-based analyses of climatepolicies will inform policy makers and help them reacha forward-looking, fair and binding internationalagreement on climate change. n