The year 2007 marked the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Kyoto Protocol; the 20th anniversary of the release of the report "Our Common Future" by the World Commission on Environment and Development, headed by former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland (the expression "sustainable development" was used officially for the first time); and the 15th anniversary of the adoption of the Framework Convention on Climate Change by the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development.

During 2007, the Japanese government's Central Council on the Environment and the Industrial Structure Council met jointly 30 times to review plans to achieve targets stipulated in the Kyoto Protocol. Their report stated that from 2008 through 2012 Japan can fulfill its obligations of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by 6 percent from the 1990 level.

On Feb. 29, the report was submitted to government headquarters for promoting measures to fight global warming, and revised plans for achieving the targets were approved. Public comment is now invited.