Search

Guyana has submitted proposals to the Negotiating Group on Rules regarding WTO fisheries subsidies disciplines calling for special and differential treatment in the negotiations.

Provisions pertaining to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are laid down in the Genetically Modified Organisms (Control of Release) Ordinance (Chapter 607), which entered into force in March 2011. No GMOs are allowed to be released into the environment, unless the GMOs are pharmaceutical products for use by human beings or certain criteria have been met. Release of GMOs into the environment requires authorization from the AFCD. Two varieties of GM papaya (i.e. the variety with the unique identifier code CUH-CP551-8 and the variety with the transformation event code Huanong 1) and any GMO that is contained in a veterinary vaccine are exempted from the requirement. Imports of GMOs intended for release into the environment require prior approval from the AFCD; exports of GMOs for the same purpose are prohibited in general.

The Capital Market Master Plan 2 (CMP2) was formulated with the theme of "Growth with Governance", and focuses on expanding the role of the capital market to invigorate national economic growth while addressing concerns about the efficacy of markets in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. (…) Prominence is given to social and environmental issues, so that investment can be harnessed through the capital market to connect communities and businesses that deliver sustainable value creation.

(...) The United States is actively engaged in negotiations to liberalize trade further, notably in the form of the Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) and the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA).

Table 3.5 Tax revenue, 2012-14
(CVEsc million)
2012 2013 2014
- Ecological Tax 543 602 592

The authorities indicated that China will continue its policy of "opening up", focusing on: the modernization of existing industries; the development of clean and knowledge-based industries; and the services sector. They also noted that China remains concerned about: overcapacity in certain industries, energy conservation, and the protection of the environment. In this respect, the authorities stated that they are guiding FDI into emerging industries, high-tech industries, energy conservation and environmental protection industries. These goals have been reflected in the latest 2015 Investment Catalogue – which encourages investment in those sectors where capital is needed, and discourages and prohibits investment in areas where there is overcapacity – and in the expansion of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (CSPFTZ), launched in 2013, and the establishment of other pilot free trade zones (in Guangdong, Tianjin and Fujian). Through these pilot projects China is exploring, inter alia, the establishment of a new foreign investment regulatory framework, based on granting pre-establishment national treatment (i.e. no approval required at the time of establishment) to foreign investment in activities not included in a negative list.

The 2012-2015 growth policy includes a seventh and new field of action concerning the question of "the sustainability of resources derived from the environment ". The energy intensity indicator linking energy consumption and GDP will illustrate this field of action, whose aim is to encourage growth that respects the environment. One of the major challenges in this sphere is to achieve climate objectives at reasonable cost by using resources efficiently.

The Societal Challenges Division focuses on improving productivity through technological innovation in the public sector and social organizations. This division is also responsible for R&D aimed at dealing with social and environmental challenges,

Ongoing security challenges, both within the country and in the region, are a crippling constraint to Pakistan's economic and social development. A series of natural disasters (devastating floods in 2010 and 2012) along with a consistent security threat resulting from militancy and terrorism has led to declines in Foreign Direct Investment, over US$3 billion according to one estimate. (...)

Since the last review, the Government has reformed the organizational and operational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) to strengthen its role and coordinate its action with that of institutions that perform related functions. As part of this process, new institutions have been established to deal with agricultural and forestry related matters; one of them is the National Agricultural and Forest Biosafety Commission (COMBIO), set up in 2012.