WASHINGTON — When Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, signed a blueprint Tuesday to eliminate a major Obama-era climate change regulation, the text said the agency would at some point consider a new rule to ratchet down greenhouse gas emissions.

But those adept at reading between the lines of dense federal documents say the subtext reads more like: “Don’t hold your breath.”

Industry leaders and environmental activists predict that when the Trump administration formalizes its plan to repeal the Clean Power Plan, nothing will take its place for possibly years to come. The E.P.A. said it would seek public comment on how to fashion a more modest measure to address pollution from power plants, although the agency has not said when it would do so.

“I suspect this will drag out for years, many years,” said Robert Murray, chief executive of Murray Energy Corp. and a vocal opponent of carbon regulations. “They need to take the time to study this and see if they come up with anything to substitute. I hope they come up with nothing.”