From translation to climate action

Young people pose for a group photo after the “Leader Readers” program in Zhaoqing, Guangdong, May 26, 2024.

“When I was little, the river that ran through my hometown was my playground. I would take a bucket and have fun in its clear waters, populated by countless living beings. However, with industrial development, we have moved away from nature despite the amenities provided,” says Zhang Lei, editor and translator of the French comic strip 10 Received Ideas on the Climate.

Since its publication in April 2024, the Chinese version has captured the attention of the general public. Zhang hopes this work will inspire more people to take action against climate change by providing them with relevant knowledge. “Integrating nature into everyone’s daily life requires everyone’s efforts,” she emphasizes.

Change habits

Addicted to shopping and takeaways, Ms. Zhang initially had nothing to do with environmental protection. However, in 2018, his encounter with GoZeroWaste, a community advocating a zero-waste lifestyle, radically changed his perspective. This community organizes swaps to encourage recycling.

GoZeroWaste screens documentaries illustrating the impact of human production and actions on the environment. A documentary on fashion consumption had a profound impact on Ms. Zhang. In the latter, a journalist investigates denim production and its impact on the environment, revealing that Central Asia’s Aral Sea, once the world’s fourth largest lake, has shrunk due to the diversion of its waters to cotton irrigation.

“This place has changed from a fertile land to a dry area, jeopardizing the survival of the local people,” said Ms. Zhang. “From that moment on, I started thinking about protecting the environment and realized that I also had to take action. »

Since then, Ms. Zhang has profoundly changed her lifestyle. She orders as few take-out meals as possible and if she does, it is from outlets offering paper packaging. To reduce consumption and waste, she only buys four items of clothing per year, thus helping to reduce carbon emissions. According to her, this lifestyle allowed her to free herself from the spiral of fashion trends and regain self-confidence.

Zhang Lei (r.) presents the new book she translated to the other Linglong project partners.

Commit to the climate

In April 2021, Ms. Zhang participated in the “Climate Fresco” workshop, developed by French engineer Cédric Ringenbach using graphics and reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Under the direction of a fresco artist, participants collaborate to reconstruct the cause and effect links of climate change.

While learning more about climate change, Ms. Zhang discovered the comic book 10 Misconceptions About Climate and decided to introduce it to China. Published in 2021, this book is the work of two climate experts from the French Development Agency and a committed illustrator. They tackle complex climate issues with humor, detailing scientific evidence based on IPCC reports and authoritative research. Zhang said this is exactly the type of climate change education people need.

Easy to read and beautifully illustrated, this comic aims to eliminate preconceptions about climate change, often spread on social media, so that more people can understand what is happening and are encouraged to take action.

“I still remember that at the end of the workshop, everyone was motivated to take concrete actions. I think that the translation of this book is my action for the climate,” she confides.

However, the mission was not without obstacles. China’s children’s book market is dominated by children’s story books, while teenagers prefer books that help them with their school curriculum. In addition, books on climate are very specialized, and it was not certain that a comic book on this theme would find its audience.

The translation process was also arduous. Ms. Zhang had to familiarize herself with technical terms and verify the data. To gain specialized knowledge, in October 2022 she joined a training program organized by Friends of Nature (FON), one of the oldest environmental NGOs in China. This is the third phase of the Linglong project, aimed at supporting Chinese citizens in their climate action. Over several weekends, she studied with renowned experts to build a framework of systematic knowledge.

In addition to the original text, she consulted numerous documents in Chinese, English and French, corresponded with the French authors and discussed the nuances of translation with Chinese experts. After several revisions and proofreadings, the book was finally published in April.

Middle school students read under the watchful eyes of teacher Chen Caiying at Bao’an Middle School in Shenzhen, July 14, 2024.

To go further

The Chinese-language comic received generally good reviews. Chen Ying, deputy director of the Sustainable Development Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, prefaced it and called it a rare and recommendable popular science book on climate change. Many Internet users said they were inspired by this “lively and accessible” book and ready to try to reduce their carbon footprint.

To encourage more people to take action, Ms. Zhang launched the “reader leaders” activity around comics. Readers are invited to organize book clubs in their own community and share the progress and results of each session via text, photo or video.

With the support of FON, Ms. Zhang recruited 100 reader leaders, including teachers, cafe owners, librarians, business representatives and social workers. To date, 80 book club meetings have been held.

Ms. Zhang is very happy to see that a drama teacher led her young students to act out the dialogues from the book. In a library in Xiamen (Fujian), children, inspired by comics, expressed their vision of nature through painting and crafts. In Shenzhen (Guangdong), secondary school teachers integrated reading the book into their curriculum.

In the future, Ms. Zhang is determined to edit and translate more popular works on ecological issues. Currently, she is working on a book dedicated to the conservation of forests and oceans. “Books are precious possessions. I hope they will be successful both commercially and socially,” she emphasizes. “I am confident that readers will realize the connection between human activities and climate change, and this book is just the beginning. »