CNN announces details for climate crisis town hall

CNN on Tuesday announced the candidate lineup for its unprecedented prime-time event focused on the climate crisis.

Ten Democratic presidential hopefuls will appear in New York at back-to-back town halls on Wednesday, September 4, taking audience questions about their climate plans as scientists sound the alarm about global warming.

Along with the candidates, the network also announced the CNN journalists and the approximate appearance times for the presidential hopefuls during the seven-hour, live event.

• Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro will be interviewed by CNN's Wolf Blitzer at 5 p.m. ET
• Businessman Andrew Yang, who will also be interviewed by Blitzer, will come on at 5:40 p.m.
• California Sen. Kamala Harris will be interviewed by CNN's Erin Burnett at 6:20 p.m.
• Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who will also be interviewed by Burnett, will appear at 7 p.m.
• Former Vice President Joe Biden will be interviewed by CNN's Anderson Cooper at 8 p.m.
• Sen. Bernie Sanders, who will also be interviewed by Cooper, will be on at 8:40 p.m.
• Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren will be interviewed by CNN's Chris Cuomo at 9:20 p.m.
• South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who will also be interviewed by Cuomo at 10 p.m.
• Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke will appear with CNN's Don Lemon at 10:40 p.m.
• New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker will also be interviewed by Lemon and will come on at 11:20 p.m.

CNN previously announced that Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir will join in the questioning throughout the evening.

A CNN poll conducted in late April showed that 96% of Democrats favored taking aggressive action to slow the effects of climate change. And Democratic activists in recent weeks have sought to elevate the issue, urging candidates to make climate change a priority.

The United Nations -- which projects that temperatures will rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by as early as 2030 -- has warned that governments must take "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society."

Global warming would have several devastating consequences. It would cause coastal cities to disappear under water, leaving hundreds of millions of people displaced and forced to migrate to dry areas. Some plants and animals would face extinction, and drought would result in lower crop yields.

The latest warning signs of a climate crisis include meteorologists recording July 2019 as the hottest month ever recorded on Earth and Greenland lost 12.5 billion tons of ice to melting on August 2, the largest single-day loss in recorded history.

The town halls will air exclusively on CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español, CNN.com's homepage, across mobile devices via CNN's apps for iOS and Android, via CNNgo apps for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast and Android TV, SiriusXM Channels 116, 454, 795 and the Westwood One Radio Network.

CNN previously announced that the town hall audience will be drawn from Democratic and independent voters and stakeholders interested in the issue and no public tickets will be available.

8 Democratic presidential candidates will participate in CNN climate town hall

Nine Democratic candidates for president have qualified for next month's Climate Crisis Town Hall, which will air exclusively on CNN platforms, and eight of them have said they will participate.

CNN is devoting the evening of Sept. 4 to the climate crisis. Eight of the Democratic candidates have accepted CNN's invitation to discuss this critically important issue: former Vice President Joe Biden; Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey; South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg; Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota; former Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas; Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont; Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts; and businessman Andrew Yang.

Citing a scheduling conflict, Sen. Kamala Harris of California declined CNN's invitation.

CNN anchors Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper, Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon will moderate individual candidate segments, and CNN Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir will join in the questioning throughout the event.

A CNN poll conducted in late April showed that 96% of Democrats favored taking aggressive action to slow the effects of climate change. The United Nations -- which projects that temperatures will rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by as early as 2030 -- has warned that governments must take "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society."

Global warming would have several consequences. It would cause coastal cities to disappear under water, leaving hundreds of millions of people displaced and forced to migrate to dry areas. Some plants and animals would face extinction, and drought would result in lower crop yields. Meteorologists just delivered the latest warning sign of global warming: July 2019 was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth.

Candidates have until Wednesday to qualify for this town hall. CNN will extend invitations to Democratic presidential hopefuls who reach 2% in at least four Democratic National Committee-approved polls conducted between June 28 and Aug. 21.

The candidates, who will make back-to-back appearances, will take questions directly from a live studio audience in New York and a CNN moderator. The audience will be drawn from Democratic voters interested in the issue. The town hall will air live on CNN platforms around the world.