A Translator Activist

A Chinese climate activistis following in the footstepsof two French experts toexplain the reasons for andconsequences of climatechange to young people in away they find fathomableand interesting.

THERE is nothing comic about the fallouts of climatechange but comic books are a good way of spreadingthe message. In 2021， two climate experts workingwith the French Development Agency published ahumorous illustrated book， 10 idées re?ues sur le climat （10misunderstandings about climate change）， to bust popularmisconceptions about climate change. Today， the book isdoing the rounds in China in its Chinese avatar to spreadawareness， thanks to a climate activist and an environmentalNGO.

Zhang Lei is no keyboard activist. She has been walkingthe talk for several years. She buys only four garments in ayear to cut down on consumption and waste and help reducecarbon emissions. She also did not order takeouts forfour years. Now， if necessary， she orders food only from outletsproviding paper packaging.

This austere lifestyle is the result of a transformation.Once an avid shopper addicted to ordering takeouts and buying new clothes online， she changed after encounteringGoZeroWaste， a community advocating a zero-waste lifestyleand organizing exchange of second-hand goods to encouragerecycling.

GoZeroWaste also screens documentaries to drive homehow human production and actions are affecting the environment.A film about fashion consumption left a deep impressionon Zhang. It tells the story of a journalist investigatingthe origin of jeans and their impact on the environment.He discovers that the fourth largest lake in the world – AralSea in Central Asia – has shrunk due to the diversion of itswater for irrigation in cotton production.

“The place has metamorphosed from a fertile land to adry area， and the survival of the local people cannot be sustained，”Zhang told China Today . “From then on， I began tothink about environmental protection and I thought I shouldalso take some action.”

Zhang began to pay attention to environmental issues. Inher personal life， she sought to reduce the waste she generatedand the frequency of buying clothes. She says she freedherself from the trend of catching up with the prevailingfashion to improve her appearance by embracing a new lifestyle.

In April 2021， Zhang took part in a Climate Fresk workshopfor the first time. Climate Fresk is a climate-themedboard game developed by French engineer Cédric Ringenbachbased on charts and reports by the IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change （IPCC）. Led by a facilitator， playersfrom different groups place the cards in order on the board，find all the cause-and-effect relationships， and learn themechanisms and consequences of climate change.

As Zhang began to study climate change issues intensively，she came across 10 idées re?ues sur le climat . The book，based on IPCC reports and orther research， delved into complexclimate issues with humorous dialogues.

Zhang said it was exactly the kind of climate change educationpeople need.

Their book， easy to read and attractively illustrated， explainsa seemingly distant and irrelevant topic clearly. Iteliminates the preconceived ideas about climate change thatare popular on social media so that more people can understandwhat is happening and encourages everyone to takeaction. “At the end of the Climate Fresk workshop， everyonewas urged to take action. So， I thought I can translate thebook （into Mandarin） as my climate action.”

She received some unexpected help with her ambition.Friends of Nature （FON）， one of the oldest environmentNGOs in China， had launched their Ling-Long Project to supportChinese citizens in climate action. At the third phaseof the project， Zhang was one of the lucky ones chosen from223 applicants and given RMB 11，900 in funding to translatethe French popular science comic.

But despite the leg-up， the mission was fraught with challenges.The children’s book market is dominated by storybookswhile teenagers tend to buy books that will help themwith their school curriculum. Besides， the climate-themedbooks in the market are highly specialized and it was uncertainif a climate comic would get any response.

The process of translation itself was also difficult. Zhanghad to be familiar with technical terms and verify the data.To acquire specialized knowledge， she joined an education program organized by FON and on weekends，studied under renowned climateexperts to build a systematic knowledgeframework. Besides the original text， shealso consulted other Chinese， English， andFrench materials， started correspondingwith the French authors， and discussedthe nuances of the Chinese expressionswith domestic experts. After rounds ofrevisions and reviews， the book was publishedin April 2024.

It has received many positive comments.Chen Ying， deputy director of the Sustainable DevelopmentResearch Center of the Chinese Academy of SocialSciences， who wrote the preface to Zhang’s translation，called it a rare and good science popularization book onclimate change. Many netizens said they have acquired a lotof scientific knowledge and action suggestions through the“vivid and accessible” book and were willing to try out practicalactions to reduce carbon emissions in their daily lives.

To persuade more people to take action， Zhang alsolaunched a “leader reader” program. The lead readers need toorganize at least one book club in their own community toexplain climate change and its repercussions to the audience，and provide feedback in the form of text， images， or videos.

Sponsored by FON， Zhang has recruited 100 lead readers，including teachers， coffee shop owners， librarians， business representatives， and social workers.

Among the feedback， Zhang was veryhappy to see that a drama teacher led heryoung students to enact the dialogues inthe book. In megacity Shenzhen in southChina， high school teachers integratedZhang’s book in their daily lessons. In alibrary in Xiamen， also in south China，children， inspired by Zhang’s book， expressedtheir views of nature through artand craft.

When she was a child， a river that ranthrough her hometown was her playground. She would takea bucket there and play in the clear water that was home toinnumerable living beings. Then came the development ofindustries that brought many conveniences to people’s livesbut also distanced them from nature. Making nature a partof people’s lives again requires everyone’s efforts.

In the future， Zhang hopes to compile more popular sciencebooks on ecological issues. She hopes such books willenable more people to learn about hot-button issues andparticipate in actions to address climate change. At present，she is working on a book on forest and ocean conservation.“Books are a special commodity. I wish they can achieve awin-win situation of commercial value and social benefits，”she said. “I hope readers will connect human activities withclimate change， and this book is a beginning.”