Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., of the Hip Hop Caucus addresses the press conference. Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Tom Perez said the party will not host an official primary debate on the climate crisis, and will restrict candidates from participating in third-party climate debates. In response, people gathered at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, DC, to demand the party reverse its stance and provide a forum for presidential hopefuls to debate one of the greatest threats facing humanity today. Over half the Democratic field has already endorsed the call for a climate debate. Organizers delivered more than 200,000 petition signatures from people across the country asking the DNC to listen to voters and organize a debate. The signatures were collected by CREDO Action, Greenpeace USA, Climate Hawks Vote, Oil Change U.S., Daily Kos, Friends of the Earth Action, Public Citizen, Endangered Species Coalition, People Demanding Action, CPD Action, Women's March National, Bold Nebraska, Bold Alliance, Amazon Watch, 350 Action, Sunrise Movement, Food & Water Action, NextGen America, US Youth Climate Strike, and MoveOn.