The US should remain signed up to the landmark Paris climate agreement, Donald Trump's energy secretary has said.

But Rick Perry said the existing arrangement on reducing carbon emissions would only be honoured if elements of the deal were altered.

The revised settlement should shift more of the responsibility for limiting climate change to European nations, he said.

“I’m not going to tell the president of the United States to walk away from the Paris accord,” the former Texas governor said on Tuesday. “I will say that we need to renegotiate it.”

His comments come amid speculation that the US President was planning on withdrawing America from the 2015 international accord.

A final decision by the Trump administration is expected in May.

Withdrawing from the accord, which has been signed by more than 190 countries, would represent a major blow to international efforts to tackle global warming.

During a speech in New York, Mr Perry also criticised Germany, which has mothballed nuclear plants leaving it more reliant on dirty coal, saying: “Don’t sign an agreement and expect us to stay in if you’re not really going to participate and be a part of it.

“We need to renegotiate it. They need to get serious.”

Mr Perry, who as governor of Texas backed the expansion of wind power, insisted that the Trump administration would not ditch green energy for coal and shale.

“We are going to ensure that renewable energy finds its way to the grid,” he said.

However, any move by the new administration to water down its climate change commitments would have consequences, other world powers have warned.

Paris climate talks in pictures Show all 12 1 /12 Paris climate talks in pictures Paris climate talks in pictures A man is covered with a multi-coloured banner with the message, "Climate" as environmentalists attend a demonstration near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, during the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) that meets in Le Bourget, December 12, 2015 Reuters Paris climate talks in pictures French President Francois Hollande (C) and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius (R) applaud after a statement at the COP21 Climate Conference in Le Bourget, north of Paris, on December 12, 2015. The years-long quest for a universal pact to avert catastrophic climate change neared the finish line today with conference host France announcing that the final draft had been completed in the early hours of the morning. Getty Paris climate talks in pictures US Secretary of State John Kerry (C) speaks with China's Special Representative on Climate Change Xie Zhenhua (R) and officials at the COP21 Climate Conference in Le Bourget, north of Paris, on December 12, 2015. The years-long quest for a universal pact to avert catastrophic climate change neared the finish line today with conference host France announcing that the final draft had been completed in the early hours of the morning. Getty Paris climate talks in pictures Delegates and members of NGO's read and work on copies of 'The adoption of the Paris agreement' is pictured after the announcement of the final draft by French Foreign Affairs minister Laurent Fabius at the COP21 Climate Conference in Le Bourget, north of Paris, on December 12, 2015. The years-long quest for a universal pact to avert catastrophic climate change neared the finish line with conference host France announcing that the final draft had been completed in the early hours of the morning Getty Paris climate talks in pictures UN climate chief Christiana Figueres (C) speaks with French President Francois Hollande (L), United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (2ndL) and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius (R) after a statement at the COP21 Climate Conference in Le Bourget, north of Paris, on December 12, 2015. The years-long quest for a universal pact to avert catastrophic climate change neared the finish line today with conference host France announcing that the final draft had been completed in the early hours of the morning Getty Paris climate talks in pictures A Swiss Dominican priest poses with activists dressed as polar bears as activists gather for a demonstration to form a giant red line at the Avenue de la Grande armee boulevard in Paris on December 12, 2015, as a proposed 195-nation accord to curb emissions of the heat-trapping gases that threaten to wreak havoc on Earth's climate system is to be presented at the United Nations conference on climate change COP21 in Le Bourget, on the outskirts of Paris. Getty Paris climate talks in pictures Activists hold up a giant banner reading 'Climate justice' by association 'ourpowercampaign' during a demonstration near the Arc de Triomphe at the Avenue de la Grande armee boulevard in Paris on December 12, 2015, as a proposed 195-nation accord to curb emissions of the heat-trapping gases that threaten to wreak havoc on Earth's climate system is to be presented at the United Nations conference on climate change COP21 in Le Bourget, on the outskirts of Paris. Getty Paris climate talks in pictures Representatives of indigenous peoples demonstrate in Paris, France, as the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) continues at Le Bourget, December 12, 2015. Reuters Paris climate talks in pictures Environmentalists demonstrate near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, as the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) continues at Le Bourget, December 12, 2015. Reuters Paris climate talks in pictures Environmentalists demonstrate near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, as the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) continues at Le Bourget, December 12, 2015. Reuters Paris climate talks in pictures Activists form a giant red line during a demonstration on the Avenue de la Grande armee boulevard in Paris on December 12, 2015, as a proposed 195-nation accord to curb emissions of the heat-trapping gases that threaten to wreak havoc on Earth's climate system is to be presented at the United Nations conference on climate change COP21 in Le Bourget, on the outskirts of Paris ALAIN JOCARD/AFP/Getty Images Paris climate talks in pictures The slogan "No Plan B" is projected on the Eiffel Tower as part of the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) in Paris, France, December 11, 2015. Reuters

There have been suggestions the US could face trade tariffs if its greenhouse gas emissions are allowed to increase while the rest of the world makes substantial cuts.

Mr Trump, who has previously called climate change a hoax invented by the Chinese, promised a raft of policies during his campaign including to undo Obama’s climate action plan and defund UN climate change work.

In November, two weeks after his election victory, Mr Trump said he had an "open mind" on the climate deal.

Then in January, days after his inauguration, the former head of the US President's transition team at the Environmental Protection Agency said Mr Trump would pull out of the Paris agreement.

“I expect Donald Trump to be very assiduous in keeping his promises, despite all of the flack he is going to get from his opponents,” Myron Ebell said.

Meanwhile, more than a dozen state prosecutors have urged Mr Trump not to withdraw from the Paris agreement.

Attorneys general from 12 states as well as the District of Columbia and American Samoa have joined a chorus of voices, including major fossil fuel energy companies and environmental advocates, condemning the idea of exiting the agreement.

"Climate change, if left unchecked, will lead to global environmental dislocation and disaster on a scale we likely cannot imagine," the prosecutors wrote.

The Paris accord seeks to limit global warming by slashing carbon dioxide and other emissions from burning fossil fuels.