The Democratic presidential candidates will gather in Las Vegas for their first primary debate on October 13, and NextGen Climate President Tom Steyer is urging CNN debate moderator Anderson Cooper to make climate change and clean energy a central part of the discussion.

In a September 29 letter to Cooper, Steyer wrote that while three major candidates -- Hillary Clinton, Martin O'Malley, and Bernie Sanders -- have recognized the threat posed by climate change and taken strong stands on key climate-related issues like the Keystone XL pipeline, Arctic drilling, and the EPA's Clean Power Plan, “the candidates have yet to discuss their specific plans to comprehensively address climate change and build a clean energy economy.” That's why, according to Steyer, Cooper has “a unique opportunity to push the Democratic presidential candidates” to “articulate, defend and refine” their climate and clean energy plans.

In addition to making his case based on the urgency of addressing climate change, Steyer's letter cited polls showing that climate change is a “top-tier issue for Democratic voters” and argued that these voters “demand nothing less than a robust discussion” about the issue.

Cooper recently told the Huffington Post that he wasn't aware of Steyer's letter and wouldn't commit to asking about climate change in next week's debate. Cooper did acknowledge, however, that “environmental issues are of great interest” to both Democrats and the country as a whole, and he hinted that it is “entirely possible” he'll ask the candidates about the topic. CNN's Jake Tapper asked several GOP candidates about climate change during the cable network's Republican primary debate on September 16.

But NextGen Climate isn't taking any chances. In an October 7 blog post, the group pointed out that The Washington Post's Greg Sargent also believes that Democratic primary voters “deserve to know more specifics about the contenders' [climate] solutions,” and concluded: “You're up, Anderson.” NextGen also urged supporters to tweet some climate- and energy-related questions to Cooper:

Because of both the magnitude of the climate crisis and importance of the issue to Democratic voters, NextGen has called on the Democratic Party to add another primary-season debate to its schedule that will focus entirely on climate change and clean energy. But in the meantime, Tuesday's CNN debate presents an opportunity to get the conversation started. 

Image at top via Flickr user mroach using a Creative Commons License.