Climate change in Japan is already affecting Japan, and the Japanese government is increasingly enacting policy to respond. Currently, Japan is a world leader in the development of new climate-friendly technologies. Honda and Toyota hybrid electric vehicles were named to have the highest fuel efficiency and lowest Greenhouse gas emissions. The fuel economy and emissions decrease is due to the advanced technology in hybrid systems, biofuels, use of lighter weight material and better engineering. As a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol, and host of the 1997 conference which created it, Japan is under treaty obligations to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions and to take other steps related to curbing climate change.