Will March 31 go down in history as a significant moment for the global climate? Here’s a reason why it could: today, the Energy and Commerce Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives released what’s called a ‘discussion draft’ of climate legislation.

This can be understood as a first step on the road to the U.S. actually reducing its sky high emissions. Some would say it’s a precursor to achieving a global climate deal in Copenhagen this December.  

In any case, it’s worth checking out. You can read a summary here. 

No one thought this process would be easy, but this first iteration hasplenty of folks in the climate movement worried–once the inevitable compromising starts, it stands to reason that these principles will weaken.

We took a look at how this bill measures up with those three digits we care so much about. Do the reductions in this bill measure up to a 350 goal? Well…we’re sorry to say…they don’t. Our friends at the Sustainabilty Institute ran a quick estimate of where the targets would lead us in 2100. Their answer: 870 ppm.

This illustrates the significant importance of working as a global community. No single country can get us back to 350 ppm alone. It is important for the US to do something credible on climate change, and this ‘discussion language,’ as it’s called, is a first step at that. But we will work hard with our allies–and all of you–to change the debate in time for Copenhagen.

Join us to do just that on October 24.