An activist at the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led climate group, is warning that the U.S. has little time to get ahead of climate change and calling the 2020 vote pivotal.
“We’re totally past the point — we have 11 years to radically transform every sector of our economy and the 2020 election is the last best chance to elect a president that will be able to do that, meaningfully,” Lauren Maunus, a policy and political coordinator for the group, told Hill.TV during an interview Thursday.
Maunus added that she was disappointed with the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) decision to not hold a debate focused on climate, but said the activist group will continue to advocate for the issue on a national scale.
“We’re really shifting the ground under their feet,” she said of the DNC. “We’ll continue organizing by the millions.”
Maunus’s comments come after the DNC voted down a resolution that would allow Democratic presidential hopefuls to take part in a standalone climate debate.
A number of Democratic candidates blasted the committee’s decision, and the move has sparked a broader discussion about the need for single-issue debates on a range of issues.
Though climate change has been a subject of debate in the last two presidential primary debates, environmental activists argue that it’s not enough to confront the rising threat, which has become a key issue in the Democratic presidential primary.
In response, both CNN and MSNBC announced this week that they will host climate-focused forums next month.
Several Democratic presidential candidates and one Republican primary challenger to President Trump will appear in the climate change forum moderated by MSNBC in September. The event will also include Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and South Bend Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D). Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld (R) is also poised to take part.
The MSNBC announcement came a day after CNN announced that it plans to host a live seven-hour town hall on climate change, featuring 10 Democratic primary candidates.
Former San Antonio mayor Julián Castro will kick off the CNN event, and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) will appear.
—Tess Bonn
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