The environment minister said on Tuesday that Japan's $15 billion climate aid to poor and vulnerable nations will depend on their support for the Copenhagen Accord.

The requirements of the program, which runs through 2012, were explained by the minister Sakihito Ozawa while speaking to reporters in Tokyo.

Kyodo News reported that he said whether the recipient countries have endorsed the Copenhagen climate change accord, reached at the U. N. conference in December, would be an "important factor" when distributing aid to help tackle climate change issues.

The report also said that the aid program can include major greenhouse gas emitters in addition to less developed African and vulnerable island nations.

Other Japanese ministers had demanded the government press China, the world's biggest carbon dioxide emitter, to indicate its emissions will likely peak to qualify for the aid, Ozawa further said.

The report said that Japan's aid package is made up of $11 billion in public money and the rest from the private sector.

It was further noted by the report that under the Copenhagen Accord, developed countries must set respective greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for 2020, while developing countries must take steps to mitigate climate change. (With Inputs from Agencies)