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MELBOURNE: Australia has said it expects binding commitments on greenhouse gas emissions cuts to be on the table for both developed and developing nations, an issue over which countries discussing the shape of a future climate pact in the Bali summit are deeply divided.

A powerful coalition of developed countries, which is chaired by Australia and is considered a key swing player at the negotiations, is split on the contentious issue of mandatory national targets for developed countries in any post-Kyoto climate agreement after 2012.

Japan, a key member of the group, has signalled it may be edging towards the position held by the US, which advocates imposing voluntary emissions targets in any post-Kyoto accord. But the EU is adamant that any new deal must contain binding commitments for all signatories to the proposed agreement.

UN Framework Convention on Climate Change executive secretary Yvo de Boer warned that the issue was creating a growing divide between developed and developing countries as the shape of a future deal was discussed.

As the divisions emerged, Australia's newly-appointed Climate Change Minister Penny Wong said the Kevin Rudd government wanted Canberra to provide international leadership in Bali and believed that all participants must commit to binding targets on emission reductions in the post-Kyoto era, according to The Australian newspaper on Wednesday.

"We would expect binding commitments to be on the table for both the developed and developing nations," Wong said on Tuesday. "We recognise this is a global challenge which requires a global solution, and the nations of the world have to come together to find it," she said.