Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- President-elect Barack Obama will act quickly on a campaign promise to address climate change upon taking office in January, his environment adviser said.

Obama will borrow from initiatives in place in Europe and some U.S. states to control heat-trapping emissions, Jason Grumet said today in Washington. While he avoided talk of new policies today, the adviser last month said Obama may continue international climate negotiations endorsed by his predecessor, George W. Bush, former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair and others.

The worst banking crisis in almost a century has raised speculation Obama will delay environmental measures that increase energy costs until the economy improves. John Podesta, the head of Obama's transition team, told reporters yesterday that action on global warming would move forward.

``As John Podesta indicated yesterday, we will have the opportunity to move quickly because there has been a profound amount of knowledge generated,'' Grumet said. ``My suggestion to all of you is to enjoy the holiday season, spend some time with your family and friends and rest up because I think it's going to be a very, very busy 2009.''

Obama may work further on a Bush initiative that brought major carbon-dioxide emitters such as China and India into talks on a global climate-change accord.

Delegates from more than 190 nations will meet in Poznan, Poland, next month to continue talks on a global climate-protection deal that negotiators hope to conclude in Copenhagen in December 2009. The U.S. is the only industrialized country that refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, an international climate accord that expires in 2012.

Come to Terms?

Bush rejected Kyoto because it didn't require developing nations such as China and India to take on mandatory emissions cuts from their coal-fired plants. An Obama administration raises ``a good possibility'' that large polluters such as the U.S. and China can come to terms, said Janos Pasztor, director of UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-Moon's Climate Change Support Team.

``While it is also true of the new Obama administration that they will want some kind of concrete action by the key developing countries, there may be a possibility to find a formulation of these commitments or actions to be taken by developing countries that will satisfy both sides,'' Pasztor said in an interview. ``Their per capita emissions are way, way below those of this country in particular and also of the world average so it has to be understood that way.''

Chances of concluding an international agreement in Copenhagen may depend on the progress in the U.S. on a domestic program to limit greenhouse gases. A tough debate is expected in Congress, said U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman.

`Lot of Angst'

``I don't know that what we are able to do here domestically is going to be driven by the international expectation about what we should do,'' Bingaman said today at the conference. ``There's going to be a lot of politics, a lot of angst and gnashing of teeth in the Congress and with the new administration.''

How quickly Obama can move on an international accord ``will depend largely on the pace of domestic legislation,'' said Elliot Diringer, vice president of International Strategies at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.

In an October interview, Grumet said the Kyoto process was flawed because it didn't require binding commitments from countries such as China. It's ``not very likely'' that Obama would push the U.S. Congress to ratify the agreement, Pasztor said.

Instead, Obama ``has expressed an interest'' in parallel negotiations initiated by Bush that target binding commitments from all large emitters, Grumet said last month. The process targets different levels of emission cuts from different countries.

`Engage' China, India

``He strongly believes that China, India and Brazil are going to have to be engaged in the next round of global reductions and make mandatory commitments on their own, albeit differentiated from what we expect the developed world to make,'' Grumet said. ``The major emitters process is helpful there.''

Talks begun under Bush ``can play a critical role in laying the groundwork for a negotiated agreement under the UN framework,'' Diringer said.

The first international forum where Obama can offer ``a different kind of leadership in global negotiations'' is a July meeting of the G-8 group of nations, the adviser said.

``Obama has said that he believes that the United States has to lead but believes that China and India can't be far behind,'' Grumet said. ``What we have supported to date is language that would have the United States take a step but that will basically provide incentives for developing countries to move forward.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Jim Efstathiou Jr. in Washington via jefstathiou@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 12, 2008 15:53 EST