The awarding of honorary doctorates falls within the autonomy of the faculties and is carried out on the "basis of assessments made at the time of the award", explained the Dean of the Faculty of Theology, Antti Räsänen, on Wednesday when asked by katholisch.de.

Neither the university nor the faculty actively monitored or supervised the further "work or activities of the award winners" after the award ceremony.

Räsänen went on to emphasise that neither the University of Helsinki nor the Faculty of Theology are involved in international conflicts or politics.

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That's despite Ardern in June calling climate change a "life or death" issue after the Climate Change Commission's final advice to the Government was released in April.

The Commission's report showed New Zealand was not on track to meet its 2050 emission targets.

It says while Covid-19 lockdown and border restrictions saw New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions fall 4.5 percent in the year ending March 2021, this assessment was shortlived.

It changed the following month when it was revealed New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions had actually increased by 2 percent in 2019.

"It's funny that people believe Jacinda Ardern and people like that are climate leaders," Thunberg comments.

"That just tells you how little people know about the climate crisis," she said.

Ardern is by no means the only politician Thunberg fingers for failing to make any headway with climate change action.

In fact, the 18-year old says she can't think of a single politician who has impressed her in this respect.

"Obviously the emissions haven't fallen. It goes without saying that these people are not doing anything."

In fact, it's all a lot of "blah" she says.

Speaking at a youth climate summit in Milan last week, Thunberg mocked UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, saying:

"Build back better. Blah, blah, blah. Green economy. Blah blah blah. Net-zero by 2050. Blah, blah, blah."

The 400 climate activists from 180 countries at the three-day summit in Milan will send their recommendations to a major United Nations climate summit in Glasgow which will begin on 31 October.

Martyn Bradbury, writer of The Daily Blog agrees with Thunberg's comments.

"Becoming carbon neutral by 2050 is unlikely," he says. He lists the following concerns to back his view:

• By 2030, over 50% of the oceans will be collapsing as bio-habitats.
• By 2030, East Coast cities in the U.S. can expect to see two to three-times as many flooding incidents.
• By 2030, 122 million will be driven into extreme poverty as direct result of climate change.
• By 2030, 100 million will die as a direct consequence of climate change.
• By 2030, even if the Paris Agreement is actually implemented, we will see a planet warm to 3.4 degrees by the end of this century meaning there will effectively be no future civilisation capable of surviving on a planet that warm.
• By 2030, the global annual cost of global warming will be $3 trillion.
• By 2030, the number of extremely hot days — classified as maximum temperatures of more than 35C — are tipped to climb in all capital cities.

Climate Change Minister James Shaw will be representing New Zealand at the Glasgow conference.

He wants New Zealand's emission reduction pathway to be ambitious, affordable and have a genuine partnership with Maori.

Budget 2021 invested billions in rail, electric vehicles, and funding for the agriculture sector to help bring its emissions down.

Source

• TVNZ
• The Daily Blog
• Image: BBC

A comment about Jesus appointing Greta Thunberg as one of his successors has resurfaced.

After initially defending the tweet, last December the Church of Sweden Malamö deleted the tweet and abandoned the account.

However the church's Twitter account has resurfaced, retweeting people who supported and praised their "humorous" December tweet.

Saying it would ring its bells during the strike before gathering "for prayer for the future of the earth," the Church of Sweden Malmö outlined the prayers that would be offered at the gathering.

"We pray that we believe that man is responsible for nurturing and managing Creation so that children are given the opportunity for a future.

"We pray that we know that climate change affects the most vulnerable — poor, children and women. We pray that we believe in man's ability to change and change."

The Church of Sweden is a national Evangelical Lutheran church with more than half of the Swedish population claiming membership, although less than two percent attend services.

The Church is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden.

No longer supported by the government, it is known for its liberal position on several theological issues.

While some Swedish Twitter users were amused by the tweet claiming Thunberg to be a successor to Christ, others found the suggestion offensive.

After the global strike, Thunberg had a speaking engagement at the United Nations (UN).

"My message is that we'll be watching you," she told the UN.

"This is all wrong, I shouldn't be up here, I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean.

"Yet, you all come to us young people for hope, how dare you. You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words and yet I'm one of the lucky ones.

"People are suffering, people are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing," Thunberg continued.

"We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you."

Source

• Daily Wire
• CBN
• Image: Loudwire

The days of civilised debate, of accepting different opinions seem to be disappearing.

None of us likes being yelled at or chastised for our views.

The pleasure of exchanging opinions, exploring them and in the process better understanding or modifying our own is one of the hallmarks of a free society.

The Greta Thunberg circus has become a complete farce.

Travelling across oceans in emissions-free boats (excluding the making thereof) and doing one's ablutions into a bucket lined with a biodegradable bag that then gets ditched into the ocean is first-world fake melodrama at its best.

If Thunberg wished to address any meeting worldwide on whatever issue she wanted without spewing carbon emissions from either jet or ocean liner travel she could easily do so: The New York Times reports that internationally famous choreographer Jerome Bell has decided to refuse air travel and now works internationally via Skype.

It's a personal choice but I don't think telling people they'll never be forgiven, berating them with "how dare you", does much to bring people on board.

Usually it has the opposite effect.

It's just another sad example of serious and complex political issues being reduced to "I'm right and you're an idiot".

That kind of discourse just pollutes the town square.

It's fractious and shuts others out. It is toxic to democratic debate.

The whole trip, the hype and the expense was one big media circus.

One can't help but think it's more to promote the person than the issue.

Given the over-dramatisation of global warming by some, including Thunberg, we now have a generation of children worried about being burnt to a crisp.

Out of all the 16-year-olds in the world, why is it that just one features in the media worldwide?

There are other kids who care as much, are just as articulate, just as concerned.

If you think the world focussing on this one young girl was just some happy accident you are plugged into a faulty socket.

I've seen the photo of her outside her school on her first climate strike.

Posed to draw on the haunting concept of the lonely outsider who (surprise, surprise) becomes the involuntary hero. Who took that photo and, more importantly, why?

Now we have kids all over the world skipping school for the day to show how much they care. I'd be more impressed if they gave up their free time to make their statement.

Even more impressive would be if they organised to collectively make a lasting statement by doing something useful.

If everyone who skipped school had planted a tree in pre-agreed areas that needed revegetating, that would have made an impressive statement.

If all the protesters focussed on a few areas, whole suburbs could be made better places in which to live.

All it would take is commitment and elbow grease.

Just skipping school gives you no skin in the game. Continue reading

• Amanda Vanstone is an Australian former politician and a former Ambassador to Italy.

The Swedish climate activist, 16, is crossing the giant ocean in a racing yacht to join protests in the US and take part in a United Nations summit. Read more