Donald Trump's administration said it would axe climate rules limiting greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants, removing a major constraint on electricity produced from gas and coal. The decision will remove rules imposed during Joe Biden's presidency to cut the release of air pollutants such as carbon dioxide by mandating that plants use technologies including carbon capture and storage.

The Environmental Protection Agency will argue that because greenhouse gases are global in nature and the potential harms are too "uncertain, conjectural, remote and convoluted to tie to US power plants, they are beyond the authority of the agency and the Clean Air Act to regulate". The rule would prevent future administrations from regulating power plant greenhouse gases. "The reality is that America produces energy better and cleaner than anywhere else in the world and a power plant should not be so absurdly targeted," EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said in a speech at a G20 energy meeting in Houston. If finalised, the proposal could save more than $300bn, the agency said.

"The years of [Barack] Obama and Biden administration's work to destroy coal and natural gas are over," said Aaron Szabo, assistant administrator of US Environmental Protection Agency. "Thanks to our actions today, American farms and businesses will experience lower electricity costs." Trump, who has called climate change a "hoax", has dismantled environmental protections at full speed in his second term as president, removing tailpipe and household appliance emission regulations, as well as the "endangerment finding". Left intact will be some rules surrounding the emission of mercury and acid gases, as well as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. State regulations will also remain in place. The move is part of his drive to boost US electricity production, with a focus on fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal. These industries have complained that climate change rules have been responsible for the closure of their plants and mines, while opponents say they have a damaging impact on air and water quality.

Natural gas makes up just over 40 per cent of the US's fuel source mix for power generation. Coal's use has declined drastically in recent decades and now represents less than a fifth of fuel sources. According to the Department of Energy, coal produces roughly twice as much carbon dioxide as natural gas for each unit of electricity generated. Natural gas, meanwhile, produces far more than renewables such as solar and wind and nuclear. Environmental groups said they would challenge the decision. "The Trump administration is cutting the biggest polluters loose to do more damage than ever," said Meredith Hankins, federal climate legal director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "For the health of our families and good of our nation, this cannot stand."