Saudi Arabia launched a bilingual energy dictionary in 2024. (SPA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nSaudi Arabia has taken steps to develop and standardize specialized terminology.<\/p>\n
In June 2024, the Ministry of Energy and King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language launched a bilingual dictionary containing more than 1,500 energy-related terms across eight fields, including sustainability and renewable energy.<\/p>\n
According to the Saudi Press Agency, the project involved technical translation and linguistic review aimed at establishing consistent terminology across the sector.<\/p>\n
The National Center for Meteorology has also addressed the importance of communicating scientific information clearly.<\/p>\n
At an October 2024 workshop organized with the Arab League, discussions examined meteorological terminology in media reporting and the need to simplify technical information without compromising accuracy.<\/p>\n
Such initiatives help establish a common scientific vocabulary, although standardizing a term and ensuring that readers understand it remain separate challenges.<\/p>\n
For Khalid Al-Qahtani, a 32-year-old Dammam resident, familiarity with a climate expression depended partly on the language in which he encountered it.<\/p>\n
He recognized \u201ccarbon footprint\u201d from English-language news and social media but hesitated when shown (al-basmah al-karboniyyah).<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve heard the English expression enough times to know it has something to do with how much pollution we produce,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn\u2019t immediately connect it with the Arabic term.\u201d<\/p>\n
A carbon footprint refers to greenhouse gas emissions associated with a person, product, activity or organization.<\/p>\n
Al-Qahtani said the Arabic expression became clearer once he learned that both terms described the same concept.<\/p>\n
Al-Harbi said familiarity with terminology often depends on repeated exposure rather than the language itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople don\u2019t necessarily understand a term better because it\u2019s in English,\u201d she said. \u201cThey may simply have encountered it more often, particularly if they follow international news or English-language content online.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other expressions present difficulties because their wording offers few clues about the scientific concept.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuper pollutants,\u201d for example, describes powerful climate-warming pollutants including methane, black carbon and hydrofluorocarbons.<\/p>\n
These pollutants can contribute substantially to warming, particularly over shorter periods, but the Arabic expression (al-mulawwithat al-fa\u2019iqah) does not explain what distinguishes them from other forms of pollution.<\/p>\n
Al-Harbi said examples drawn from familiar activities could help readers make the connection.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone might not know what methane is, but they can understand that gas released from decomposing waste contributes to warming,\u201d she said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to remove the scientific term. You have to give people a reason to understand it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even closely related expressions can create confusion.<\/p>\n
Net zero and carbon neutrality are sometimes used interchangeably, although their scope can differ depending on the emissions covered and how reductions and removals are accounted for.<\/p>\n
That distinction can be difficult to preserve when scientific reports are condensed into headlines or translated for general audiences.<\/p>\n
For 24-year-old Saudi university graduate Sara Al-Otaibi, \u201ccarbon neutrality\u201d initially suggested that carbon dioxide was no longer harmful.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought neutral meant it didn\u2019t have an effect anymore,\u201d she told Arab News. \u201cI didn\u2019t understand that it was about balancing emissions.\u201d<\/p>\n
After hearing an explanation of how emissions can be reduced and remaining carbon dioxide balanced through removals, she said the concept became easier to follow.<\/p>\n
The responses of the three residents do not establish how widely climate terminology is understood in Saudi Arabia. They do, however, offer individual examples of how readers might interpret unfamiliar scientific language.<\/p>\n
Al-Harbi said the responsibility for communicating such concepts extends beyond translators to the institutions and journalists using them.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccuracy matters, but so does knowing who you\u2019re speaking to,\u201d she said. \u201cA scientific term might be appropriate in a research paper, while a news article may need an additional sentence to explain what it means.\u201d<\/p>\n
As climate terminology becomes part of everyday discussions in Saudi Arabia, that additional explanation can make the difference between recognizing a term and understanding the issue behind it.<\/p>\n
For Al-Dossari, the Arabic translation was not the problem. Nor was the English expression.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just needed someone to explain what it actually meant,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n