Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- President-elect Barack Obama is in the final stages of putting together his energy team, with former Environmental Protection Agency chief Carol Browner as his likely pick for a newly created position overseeing energy, climate and environmental issues, Democratic aides said.

Nancy Sutley, an energy official for the city of Los Angeles, is Obama’s choice to head his White House Council on Environmental Quality, according to the aides.

Browner, 52, would be charged with coordinating environment and energy initiatives across the administration, the aides said.

Browner, who is part of Obama’s transition advisory board, told reporters on Dec. 1 the new position wouldn’t change the roles or duties of the secretaries of Energy and Interior or the EPA administrator.

“Every department retains all of its statutory responsibilities,” Browner said. “These are offices and councils that bring together all of the authorities that rest in individual departments creating more opportunity to do the kind of things that the president wants to do.”

Browner, EPA administrator under former President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 2001, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment today.

Environmental Background

Sutley currently is deputy mayor for energy and the environment in Los Angeles and served previously in similar positions in the state’s government. As head of the Council on Environmental Quality, she would oversee the White House panel that advises the president on national and international environmental issues. Officials in Sutley’s office also didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Obama is expected to name his main energy and environmental candidates this week or next, said the aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the formal announcement.

Contenders to head the Department of Energy include Steven Chu, director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, former Google Inc. official Dan Reicher and Duke Energy Corp. Chairman Jim Rogers, aides said.

Obama has said a broad effort across all branches of government, including state and local, is needed for the U.S. to transform its energy economy. He has said doing so is a crucial part of reviving the economy, bolstering national security and curbing the threat of global climate change.

Pitfalls and Benefits

Jack Gerard, president of the American Petroleum Institute, said it remains to be seen whether having a coordinator working across Cabinet departments benefits U.S. policy making.

“If it becomes one more layer in the overall bureaucracy to where it delays decision-making, then it’s a negative,” Gerard said. “If they focus it like a laser, give it authority to span the organization, sometimes it can move a policy more quickly.”

Karen Harbert, executive vice president for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy, said the government needs to synchronize its efforts.

“You need an entity that has the ability to lead across the entire energy policy landscape and coordinate a more comprehensive approach,” she said.

Previous presidents have relied on White House councils to advise them on important issues. The National Security Council was created in 1947 to integrate foreign and defense policies, and the National Economic Council was formed in 1993 to coordinate the administration’s response to economic issues.

Energy and environmental policies also are central to Obama’s plans to revive the economy. Obama has said he wants to spend $150 billion over 10 years to cut greenhouse-gas emissions and create millions of jobs in a new “green” energy economy.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kim Chipman in Chicago at kchipman@bloomberg.net; Dan Whitten in Washington at dwhitten2@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 10, 2008 16:14 EST