JOSE ANGEL GURRIA

There probably could be some mileage in running a comparative study about how best to finance electoral campaigns around the world.

Ending our reliance on fossil fuels was never going to be easy.

Words must be matched by action if change is to become lasting.

Most businesses do not take governments seriously when it comes to climate, primarily because many governments have inconsistent and incoherent policies and then often keep changing them, sometimes retroactively. This makes businesses reluctant to invest in greener technologies.

One of the greatest challenges of democracies today is the question of financing campaigns. It's a tremendous challenge. Obviously I think the solution is to have the governments pay for all the campaigns and not to have any private contributions.

Everywhere, you have a fatigue for reform... that's very serious.

We are dealing with the greater challenges of globalisation. It is generating, in many cases, an increase in the levels of inequality in societies... that is undesirable.

Some refugees will find it relatively easy to find jobs. A university-educated Syrian civil engineer arriving in Munich will need to learn some German, but once this is done, he or she is unlikely to have to wait too long before employers come knocking.

We never tell countries that they should have a particular number in terms of a tax number, you know, if countries can make do with whatever average tax they have. The question is, do they apply it to everybody? Or do they give sweetheart deals to some companies?

The OECD should respond directly to the specific needs of the member countries. You basically say, 'What works?' You don't have to go on a discovery trip. It's all there; you just call them, and they know. It's like a knowledge bank.

In order to encourage private investors to pursue long-term, responsible projects, governments need to promote consistent policies and frameworks.

More dangerous than voting for change... is that people no longer vote because they have lost trust not only in governments but in democracy.

Unlike other essential goods, like clothing, shelter, or food, we take cheap or even free water for granted. It often takes a crisis, such as a major drought or flood, to spur investment and policy reforms in improving water security.

Providing investors with recourse against governments is valuable.

Social cohesion and inclusive growth are additional crucial perspectives to incorporate into public policies, targeting a renewed social contract that reduces inequalities and benefits the whole of society.

There is no upside for the U.K. in Brexit. Only costs that can be avoided and advantages to be seized by remaining in Europe. No one should have to pay the Brexit tax.

European leaders cannot afford to be afraid. The refugee crisis is not one from which they can opt out. No magic wand will empower leaders to transport more than a million people back across the Aegean and the Bosphorus to Mosul and Aleppo, or across the Mediterranean to Eritrea, Somalia, and Sudan.

Countries like Japan do not have to change their cultures to address their educational shortcomings; they simply have to adjust their policies and practices.

Coal is the most carbon-intensive fuel available for electricity generation. The most urgent threat to climate policy is the scale of new investments in unabated coal-fired electricity generation still being planned.

You can accuse Europeans of being many things - except fast.

It is not good to cut exports or imports.

You do need more revenues, and you do need to cut expenses. But you also don't want to go in a direction whereby increasing taxes creates a reticence to create new jobs. You don't want to increase taxes on work. You don't want to increase taxes on investment and the creation of wealth.

It will be crucial the E.U. and the U.K. maintain the closest economic relationship possible.

Principles of fair and equitable treatment included in many treaties are uncontroversial as general principles of good public governance.

Economic resources are not all that matter in people's lives.