In an interview with EurActiv, John Krenicki, president and CEO of GE Energy, says that his company is already investing in clean-energy technologies, in anticipation of the carbon-trading process inspiring a similar measure in the US.

America is slowly changing its mind on climate change with a growing number of individual States, mayors and corporations openly calling for action to be taken at federal level.

In an exclusive interview with EurActiv, John Krenicki, president and CEO of GE Energy, a power equipment supplier involved in wind turbines, clean coal, and other clean energy technologies, said he believes that curbing greenhouse-gas emissions is "the right thing to do".

Asked whether a cap-and-trade system for carbon dioxide emissions would be desirable in the US, Krenicki said: "Our view is that something similar will happen. It may not be the same but our sense is that there will be some value associated with carbon in the future."

Krenicki even suggests it could be happening sooner rather than later. "We're going to have an election in the US shortly and then another election in two years - we'll leave that to the politicians," he said.

EU business organisations have criticised the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS), saying placing a price on carbon dioxide emissions forces electricity prices up and undermines Europe's global competitiveness.

But Krenicki seems to take the opposite view. "We think the drive to be more efficient makes us more competitive. So, we don't see [the EU-ETS] as hampering our competitiveness."

And as one of the world's three largest manufacturers of nuclear power plants, GE's Krenicki says nuclear has to be part of the picture. "As CO2 has value, nuclear is the largest or most significant option to generate zero CO2 electricity. The other thing with nuclear is that once installed, it is the lowest cost to run and emits no CO2 so it's a real viable option."

In the US, more than 266 mayors have signed the US Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement and, in California, Governor Arnold Scharzenegger recently signed a strong climate-change law for his state.

Although it is unlikely that the US will ever sign the Kyoto Protocol, negotiations are ongoing on what to do after 2012 when its targets expire. The 12th session of the UNFCCC, the convention in which Kyoto is framed, will try to address this when it meets in Nairobi, Kenya, from 6 to 17 November. The US is a party to the UNFCCC but not to Kyoto.

Click here to read the full interview