Elizabeth Warren and Washington governor Jay Inslee have found some common ground in their calls for an official Democratic debate on climate change heading into the 2020 election.

The moment of agreement came online after Mr Inslee tweeted that he had been informed by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) there would be no debate focusing on the topic.

“Today, my team received a call from the Democratic National Committee letting us know that they will not host a #ClimateDebate,” Mr Inslee, a 2020 democratic presidential candidate who has focused heavily on climate change, wrote.

In further tweets, Mr Inslee said his team had been warned participating in other, non-DNC forums would disqualify him from future official debates. He continued to say Democratic voters list climate change as a top issue.

Ms Warren, a 2020 rival, then responded, saying that she agreed with the governor that a debate on the issue was of pressing importance.

Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage Show all 25 1 /25 Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage Masked Butterflyfish (Chaetodon semilarvatus) swimming over a bommie reef in the Egyptian Red Sea marine reserve of Ras Mohamed, off the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula AFP/Getty Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage Rising sea temperatures cause corals to bleach (go white) and die Getty/iStock Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage A giant clam is seen nestled among coral reefs at the Obhor coast, 30 kms north of the Red Sea city of Jeddah AFP/Gett Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage Coral reef in seychelles that has degraded After the reef has died they break up and become rubble. On this reef there is some regrowth of young corals so there is hope for recovery Getty Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage Coral gardening A rabbitfish in a net H Goehlich Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage A school of fish and a sea can in a healthy coral reef off the coast of Isla Mujeres, Mexico Getty/Lumix Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage Sky views of great barrier reef in Australia Getty/iStock Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage A fish swims among coral reefs at the Obhor coast AFP/Getty Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage Researchers from the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in the southern Israeli resort city Eilat monitor coral growth while scuba diving in the Red Sea AFP/Getty Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage Coral gardening A rope nursery Nature Seychelles Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage Fish swimming off the coast of Egypt's Red Sea resort of Hurghada. The rebounding tourism sector is worrisome for the fragile marine ecosystem AFP/Getty Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage Coral gardening A parrotfish on the reef C Reveret Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage Gorgonian sea fan on a a coral reef in the Egyptian Red Sea marine reserve of Ras Mohamed AFP/Getty Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage A diver swims during a Great Barrier Reef experience on Lady Elliot Island, Australia Getty/Tourism Queensland Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage Jessica Bellsworthy, a PhD student conducting research on the coral reefs of the Gulf of Eilat, holds a coral in an aquarium at the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat AFP/Getty Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage Coral reefs in the water off the Obhor coast, 30 kms north of the Red Sea city of Jeddah in 2008 AFP/Getty Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage A diver photographs golden anthias (Pseudanthias aurulentus) on a coral reef in the Egyptian Red Sea marine reserve of Ras Mohamed AFP/Getty Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage FUNAFUTI, TUVALU - AUGUST 15: From the air the ocean (L) and the logoon (R) and separated by a thin stip of land on August 15, 2018 in Funafuti, Tuvalu. The small South Pacific island nation of Tuvalu is striving to mitigate the effects of climate change. Rising sea levels of 5mm per year since 1993, well above the global average, are damaging vital crops and causing flooding in the low lying nation at high tides. Sea water rises through the coral atoll on the mainland of Funafuti and inundates taro plantations, floods either side of the airport runway and affects peoples homes. The nation of 8 inhabited islands with an average elevation of only 2m above sea level is focusing on projects to help it and its people have a future. Four of the outer islands are 97% solar energy dependent and the Tuvalu Government is working to achieve 100% renewable energy from wind and solar by 2025. Tuvalu's 11,000 inhabitants see the effects of climate change in their daily life. (Photo by Fiona Goodall/Getty Images for Lumix) Fiona Goodall Getty/Lumix Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage A photo taken on April 4, 2019 shows fish swimming off the coast of Egypt's Red Sea resort of Hurghada. - In dazzling turquoise waters off Egypt's Red Sea coast, scuba divers swim among delicate pink jellyfish and admire coral -- but the rebounding tourism sector is worrisome for the fragile marine ecosystem. (Photo by Mohamed el-Shahed / AFP) (Photo credit should read MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP/Getty Images) MOHAMED EL-SHAHED AFP/Getty Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage Coral gardening A damselfish Sarah Frias-Torres Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage Divers swim past a coral reef in the Egyptian Red Sea marine reserve AFP/Getty Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage A puffer fish hovering above coral in the Egyptian Red Sea marine reserve AFP/Getty Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage Researchers from the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in the southern Israeli resort city Eilat monitor coral growth while scuba diving on June 12, 2017 in the Red Sea off Eilat. Global warming has in recent years caused colourful coral reefs to bleach and die around the world -- but not in the Gulf of Eilat, or Aqaba, part of the northern Red Sea. At the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in southern Israeli resort city Eilat, dozens of aquariums have been lined up in rows just off the Red Sea shore containing samples of local corals AFP/Getty Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage This photo taken on April 21, 2017 shows an aerial shot of part of mischief reef in the disputed Spratly islands on April 21, 2017. Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana flew to a disputed South China Sea island on April 21, brushing off a challenge by the Chinese military while asserting Manila's territorial claim to the strategic region. / AFP PHOTO / TED ALJIBE (Photo credit should read TED ALJIBE/AFP/Getty Images) TED ALJIBE AFP/Getty Coral reefs: Trying to combat climate change damage fish swimming off the coast of Egypt's Red Sea resort of Hurghada AFP/Getty

“Gov Inslee is exactly right. Climate change is the biggest challenge we face,” wrote Ms Warren, who regularly polls in third or fourth place in the crowded Democratic field. “Every candidate running for president should have a serious set of policies to address it, and should be eager to defend those proposals in a debate.”

Climate change has emerged as a marquee political issue in the Democratic primary, with candidates releasing detailed proposals on how they would address the threat that scientists say could threaten life all across the globe. Mr Inslee was among the first to release his detailed plan. Since then, candidates like Ms Warren have also released theirs — underscoring how important candidates believe the issue is from an electoral standpoint, and the urgency of the issue.

As it turns out, several presidential candidates in addition to Ms Warren and Mr Inslee have agreed that a climate change debate would be beneficial and important before voters cast their ballots starting next year.

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Beto O’Rourke, who has released one of the most ambitious climate change proposals, has called for such a debate. Bernie Sanders, Kirsten Gillibrand, Michael Bennet, and Julian Castro have all also backed the idea in some form or another.

The issue has been pushed forward at least in part by the activist Sunrise Movement, a grassroots youth organising group.

Varshini Prakash, the co-founder and executive director of Sunrise demanded in a statement that the DNC reconsider the decision not to host a climate debate.

“Almost every major candidate has supported the call for a Climate Debate. It is an outrage not only to deny the American people an opportunity for a real debate on the greatest existential threat of our time, but to threaten candidates who want to participate in a climate debate,“ she told The Independent.

“We hope that all candidates, especially those who joined us in calling for a Climate Debate, will speak out against this disastrous decision and demand the DNC reconsider.”

Ms Prakash continued, noting that her group plans on organising in Detroit during the second presidential debates next month.

“This is exactly why we're assembling in Detroit by the thousands this summer,” she said. “The political and media establishment have spent our entire lives not taking this crisis seriously. This is just the latest example of that and it's not going to change unless we relentlessly demand they take this threat as seriously as young people do.”

In response to a request sent via email, the DNC said the following: " The DNC has told media partners from the start the importance of climate change during the debates for the 2020 cycle, and frankly, it’s an issue that should have been more prominent during the 2016 cycle. Our goal is to provide a platform for candidates to have a vigorous discussion on ideas and solutions on the many issues that voters care about, including the economy, climate c hange, and health care. While climate change is at the top of our list, the DNC will not be holding entire debates on a single issue area because we want to make sure voters have the ability to hear from candidates on dozens of issues of importance to American voters."