Following these steps, in 2003 the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) was established as a mutual certification system. Currently, the FSC and the PEFC are the two most common global forest certification systems. In 2003, Japan initiated its own Sustainable Green Ecosystem Council (SGEC), the SEGC Forest Certification System was set up along with the FSC as well-established forest certification systems in Japan. Under the Kyoto Protocol adopted in 1997 (United Nations, 1998), it was acknowledged that the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by carbon sinks was limited, but it was included in the calculation of reduction targets.