After long resisting numerical targets on emissions cuts and rejecting the U.N.-sponsored Kyoto treaty, Bush in May called for a long-term global goal to cut emissions and urged a series of meetings among major polluting countries. Washington will host the first of those sessions on Sept. 27-28.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard wants APEC leaders to agree to the idea of an "aspirational" goal on emissions cuts.
On the sidelines of APEC, Bush has plans for several bilateral meetings. He will meet one-on-one with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Russian President Vladimir Putin and likely South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun.
With a summit between North and South Korea coming up later in September, Bush is expected to urge Roh hang tough on the effort to get North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to give up the country's nuclear weapons program.
"He will try to persuade Roh not to give away the farm to Kim Jong-il," said Michael Green, a former White House aide now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Bush will spend most of Wednesday with Howard, a steadfast ally who was one of the first leaders to commit troops to the Iraq war. Bush's visit and the success of the APEC summit are viewed as helpful to Howard's re-election bid because of the prestige surrounding top-level gathering.
Many Australian value warm ties with the United States, even though both Bush and the Iraq war are unpopular there.
With elections due in Australia by the end of the year, Howard lags behind opposition leader Kevin Rudd, who has vowed to pull nonessential troops from Iraq if he wins. Australia has about 1,500 troops in and around Iraq.
Bush, who plans a meeting with Rudd on Thursday, said he would raise the subject of Iraq with the Labor Party leader.
"I'm going to remind him that, one, the stakes in Iraq are very high for peace," Bush said. "Iraqi-style democracy in the heart of the Middle East is part of winning this ideological struggle."
"And I'll remind him that, as far as I'm concerned, that leaving Iraq before the job is done will cause an enemy that attacked us before to become emboldened," Bush added.
