Hey, Joe Biden! Call Me, Before Debating Trump on Climate Change

The first debate between President Trump and former Vice President Biden will occur on the 29th of September. In advance of the encounter, 70 Dem-ocratic members of Congress sent a letter to the Commission on Presiden-tial Debates asking it to publicly call on the moderators to include climate in the topics that will be addressed during the debates. More precisely, they are requesting that climate be made a centerpiece of the debates.

In their letter, the lawmakers refer to Earth’s warming as a clear and present danger:

Climate change is no longer an issue that is looming in the distance. It is here… in the wildfires ravaging the West, the heatwaves gripping much of the nation, the hurricanes and [d]erechos devastating communities, and extreme flooding and drought threatening lives and livelihoods. Not to mention the grave environmental injustices impacting people of color…

The request breaks with precedent. Once chosen by the Commission, the moderators are free to frame the debates as they see fit. The signatories are now waiting for the Commission’s response. It is hard to imagine any year better suited to breaking precedents than 2020.

Given the centrality of climate change to the critical events of the day, it is hard to imagine that any of the moderators…