In an instance of persistence and broad support winning out over the entrenched opinion of party leadership, there is going to be a town hall for Democratic candidates focused entirely on the climate crisis. The idea of a single-topic debate or town hall was heavily resisted by Democratic National Committee leadership, but the popularity of the idea, and the critical nature of the issue, overwhelmed that resistance.
CNN will host the town hall on Sept. 4, and has invited any candidate who meets the qualifications for the September debates to appear. So far, eight candidates have passed that threshold and could potentially take part in the town hall. They include Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Beto O’Rourke, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren, all of whom have produced extensive plans for addressing the climate crisis or have expressed support for the Green New Deal. It also includes Amy Klobuchar, who signed on as a sponsor of the Green New Deal legislation, but has said she finds it “aspirational rather than prescriptive.” She has also said she would not ban fracking and supports “clean coal technologies.”
Notably missing from the above list are Gov. Jay Inslee, who has made the climate crisis a central theme of his campaign, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who issued her own climate crisis plan, including a significant tax on carbon, earlier this week. Either or both may still qualify for the September debate if they can gain enough attention to bring up their level in national polls.
It is not clear which candidates will accept an invitation to appear at the town hall. The event will not be structured as a debate, but will feature candidates appearing consecutively to make the case for their plans.