Five leaders of British political parties called for dramatic action to confront climate change in a televised debate on Thursday, just two weeks before the country’s general election. A melting ice sculpture stole the show. The sculpture stood in for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the leader of the Conservatives and the figure who seems to loom over all of British politics. The ice sculpture infuriated Conservatives, some of whom accused the host network, Channel 4, of partisan bias. Mr. Johnson did send two emissaries in his stead: his environment minister, Michael Gove, and his father, Stanley Johnson, an environmental campaigner and former European Union official.

Source: New York Times November 28, 2019 23:37 UTC