Washington DC - President-elect Donald Trump nominated fracking magnate and climate change denier Chris Wright as energy secretary on Saturday, tasking him with "cutting red tape" which the new administration hopes will drive investment in fossil fuels.

"As Secretary of Energy, Chris will be a key leader, driving innovation, cutting red tape, and ushering in a new 'Golden Age of American Prosperity and Global Peace'," Trump said in a statement.

Wright is a founder of Liberty Energy, which serves the energy companies that have massively increased US fossil fuel production in recent years by extracting oil and gas from shale fields in a process known as fracking.

"My dedication to bettering human lives remains steadfast, with a focus on making American energy more affordable, reliable, and secure," Wright said on X after Trump's announcement.

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"Energy is the lifeblood that makes everything in life possible... I am looking forward to getting to work."

In a previous LinkedIn post, Wright had displayed his extreme, anti-scientific views on global warming.

"There is no climate crisis and we are not in the midst of an energy transition either," he said, adding that "the term carbon pollution is outrageous" because all life depended on carbon dioxide.

"There is no such thing as clean energy or dirty energy, all energy sources have impacts on the world both positive and negative," Wright falsely added.

During his election campaign, Trump – who calls climate change a hoax – promised to boost the domestic fossil fuel industry in order to bring down energy prices that have driven inflation.

He also pledged to tear up environmental regulations and US commitments to combat rapidly worsening climate change under the landmark 2015 Paris accords.

Wright will devise policy alongside North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, head of the newly-created National Energy Council.

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"We will DRILL BABY DRILL, expand ALL forms of Energy production to grow our Economy, and create good-paying jobs," Trump said Friday as he announced Burgum's appointment.

Meanwhile, 2024 is on track to be the hottest year on record, with a rapidly warming climate increasing both the frequency and power of extreme weather events.