Ten years after the historic Earth Summit, the world has yet to sufficiently address and tackle crucial environmental issues, and there is a need for increased official development assistance (ODA) from Japan and other developed countries, according to a report recently released by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.

The draft report, published on the Internet, is a comprehensive assessment of global measures on environmental protection and development in the past decade and an important basic document for discussion leading up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in August.

The report for this year's summit pointed out how the countries' policies on sustainable development lack consistency, coherence and a long-term ecofriendly vision in the developed countries' investment.

According to the report, Japan, the United States and other developed nations are home to 15% of the world's population but consume 56% of the world's resources, as compared to consumption in an average Africa household, which has decreased 20% from 25 years ago.