After the first day of a two-day ministerial meeting held in Copenhagen to prepare for next month's conference known as COP15, Ozawa stressed that the government is now considering a new aid plan under the so-called "Hatoyama Initiative," that will be repackaged with the previous government's assistance.

Throwing support behind developing nations in their efforts to fight global warming is one of the key issues at negotiations in crafting a new international framework after the 1997 Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.

Asked about the prospects of reaching a political agreement on key elements of a new post-Kyoto framework, Ozawa said, "We now have a very high chance of agreement."

"If we can agree on the basics, that will make it easy to work out its details at the working level," he told reporters.

The two-day preparatory meeting began earlier Monday to cover key elements of a prospective international framework for fighting global warming from 2013 onward.

The framework would include developed countries' goals for reducing carbon dioxide emissions, how to reduce them in developing countries and how developed economies can help developing nations in their efforts.

The adoption of a new legal framework at the December meeting is deemed difficult due mainly to prolonged debate in the United States over a bill on measures to combat global warming, and the COP15 organizers and host Denmark are calling on the conference to reach a "political agreement" on key matters instead.