The Kyoto Protocol was adopted at the third session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in December 1997 in Kyoto. Numerical targets were set for reductions of six greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxides. These targets are legally binding for each ratifying country, and the aim is to reduce these gases by 5% or more from 1990 emissions levels for all industrial countries by 2008-12. Specific numerical targets are 8% for the EU, 7% for United States, and 6% for Japan. The EU and Japan have ratified the protocol, but the United States has refused ratification because of feared adverse effects on industrial development.