The Democratic National Committee has said it isn’t interested in holding a presidential debate focused on climate change, so CNN and MSNBC are each attempting the fill the void with their own events.
Both networks separately unveiled plans Thursday to host town halls about climate change for presidential candidates in September.
CNN said it will hold a Democratic presidential town hall on Wednesday, Sept. 4 in New York City. The network is inviting those candidates who meet the Democratic National Committee’s polling threshold for the September primary debate, which requires them to reach 2% or more in four approved polls by Aug. 28.
The network said the climate town hall will follow a similar format to the ones it held earlier this year in Austin, Texas, Manchester, N.H., and Washington, D.C.
Meanwhile, MSNBC is co-hosting the two-day Climate Forum 2020, which will be held at Georgetown University Sept. 19-20. All declared presidential candidates from both parties will be invited to speak to young voters about climate change in the town hall-style forum, co-hosted by The Institute of Politics and Public Service at Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy and Our Daily Planet, an independent environmental news organization.
Chris Hayes and MSNBC Live host Ali Velshi will moderate MSNBC’s forum. The event will be livestreamed on NBC News Now and will be covered both nights on All In With Chris Hayes.