KEY POINTS:
Prime Minister Helen Clark says it will take the "wisdom of Solomon" to solve international differences over climate change policy at this week's Apec summit.
Atop the agenda for the 21 leaders and their ministers at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation forum in Sydney will be climate-change policy
and free-trade talks.
The leaders will meet in a locked-down city protected by a "ring of steel" barrier patrolled by thousands of police and soldiers.
Thousands of protesters from numerous causes are expected to give leaders, such as United State President George Bush, a noisy reception and there are fears it could end in clashes with nervous security forces.
There are indications the potential for trouble outside the summit could be mimicked inside the Sydney Opera House when leaders meet.
One senior Apec official has been quoted as saying he expected the talks on climate change to be "bloody" and Helen Clark told journalists yesterday she was not expecting easy progress.
"To reach agreement on ... a way forward will require the wisdom of Solomon because clearly there are at least three very distinct perspectives."
There were those developed nations that had ratified the Kyoto Protocol - Japan, Canada, Russia and New Zealand - and agreed to emission reduction targets.
Australia and the United States had not ratified the protocol and were in another camp.
A third grouping included developing countries not subject to binding emission reduction targets under the agreement.
Helen Clark said those countries did not show any sign of wanting to commit to targets when the protocol expired in 2012.
"But I prefer to see the glass half-full rather than half empty and to say it is an achievement to have a discussion at all."
She said New Zealand had "taken responsibility" for its emissions and wanted others to do so as well.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard hopes he can get agreement to "shared and meaningful goals".
Chinese officials have already criticised the move, saying it undermined the Kyoto Protocol.
Helen Clark said it would be very difficult for Mr Howard to persuade those who had signed up to emission targets such as New Zealand to change their stance.
"We need to keep pushing for others to be taking responsibility as well," she said.
Just because Australia and the US had not ratified did not mean they were doing nothing, but she would be keen to get them to sign up to specific targets.
Developing countries also appeared to be staunchly against accepting targets, but she hoped they could be persuaded to make moves towards reducing emissions.
The Prime Minister leaves for Australia on Friday.
- NZPA
