When a conference of Post Kyoto Protocol was about to begin, the following claims came out mainly from the interest groups relating to the steel industry: necessity of reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases could be understandable, however, in the Japanese steel industry, which emits the largest amount of carbon dioxide, there was no room for the reduction because the industry's energy efficiency had almost reached the technological limit, therefore further burdens of emissions reduction should be borne by countries other than Japan.
ポスト京都議定書の協議が始まるようになると、温室効果ガス排出量削減の必要性は認めながらも「最も二酸化炭素排出量の多い産業である鉄鋼業では、日本のエネルギー効率は高いことから削減余地が少ない（のだから他国に削減させるべきである）」といった主張が、主に利益団体より出されるようになった。