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The Rio Declaration of 1992 called for states to integrate environmental protection in their process of development in order to achieve the ultimate goal of sustainable development (Principle 4). The paper investigates to what extent the People's Republic of China (PRC) has integrated environmental protection into her fisheries policy. The environment/development nexus is analysed in relation to the adoption and implementation of the Fisheries Law of 2000. Official documents and, more importantly, interviews conducted in several organizations at multiple levels of governance disclose a complex reality beyond the formal commitment to sustainable fisheries. Diverging interests, goals and strategies can be traced beyond formal policy documents in Beijing, Guangdong and between the Centre and the Province. Inter-organizational divergences at the central and local levels, as well as between them, hinder the pursuit of environmental protection in the development of China's fisheries sector. The paper highlights the political complexity of pursuing more responsible fisheries in the multi-actor and multi-level political-administrative system of the PRC. Here, as well as in many other developing countries, economic development constitutes the policy priority. Environmental protection often remains not only an ambitious objective but also an unperceived need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent economic interaction between Latin America and Asia, particularly between Brazil and China, has attracted the attention of the academic world that seeks to understand the effects of this approach in terms of business cycle convergence, economic structure and development trajectory. This paper contributes to this debate, presenting new evidence about the type and quality of this relationship. Our results reveal that Brazil and China present different patterns of relationship between trade and productive specialization: while Brazil has an intra-industry trade pattern, China has an inter-industry trade pattern. We explore some normative implications and future research possibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: This paper addresses the impact of both economic growth and financial development on environmental degradation using a panel cointegration technique for the period between 1980 and 2007, except for Russia (1992–2007). In long-run equilibrium, CO2 emissions appear to be energy consumption elastic and FDI inelastic, and the results seem to support the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis. The causality results indicate that there exists strong bidirectional causality between emissions and FDI and unidirectional strong causality running from output to FDI. The evidence seems to support the pollution haven and both the halo and scale effects. Therefore, in attracting FDI, developing countries should strictly examine the qualifications for foreign investment or to promote environmental protection through the coordinated know-how and technological transfer with foreign companies to avoid environmental damage. Additionally, there exists strong output-emissions and output-energy consumption bidirectional causality, while there is unidirectional strong causality running from energy consumption to emissions. Overall, the method of managing both energy demand and FDI and increasing both investment in the energy supply and energy efficiency to reduce CO2 emissions and without compromising the country’s competitiveness can be adopted by energy-dependent BRIC countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]