Pamphlets relating to the Kyoto Protocol to the Convention on Climate Change, 1998-1999, and protest material from the Stop Esso campaign, 2001

Pamphlets relating to the Kyoto Protocol to the Convention on Climate Change, 1998-1999, and protest material from the Stop Esso campaign, 2001. Consists of: one booklet, ‘The Kyoto Protocol to the Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC, 1998; one booklet, ‘Convention on Climate Change’, UNFCCC, 1999; two copies of A3 poster, ‘Boycott E$$o, No.1 global warming villain’; two copies of A5 leaflet, ‘Boycott E$$o, No.1 global warming villain’; two copies of four-page A4 pamphlet, ‘Stop E$$o, No. 1 global warming villain’; two copies long sticker, ‘Boycott E$$o, No.1 global warming villain’; two copies of window sticker, ‘Boycott E$$o, No.1 global warming villain’; two A4 sheets of 20 stickers, ‘Boycott E$$o, No.1 global warming villain’; two A4 sheets of eight stickers, ‘I’d rather be boycotting E$$o’.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was signed by 154 states at the ‘Earth Summit’ (officially the UN Conference on Environment and Development) at Rio de Janeiro, 1992. It was a major milestone for international climate policy, compelling governments to formally recognise the risks of human-caused climate change, and to commit first to stabilise, then reduce, greenhouse gas emissions. The framework set out the process for negotiating agreements for limiting emissions, including the staging of regular Conferences of the Parties (COPs). The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997 and provided the basis for implementing the UNFCCC’s objectives. It committed ratifying parties to emissions reduction targets that applied to seven greenhouse gases. These were calculated according to the principle of ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’, recognising the impact of historic cumulative emissions from economically developed nations. The Protocol came into force in 2005.

Both the Convention and Protocol were remarkable achievements, especially given the level of scientific uncertainty persisting around the extent of human influence on the climate, and around the nature and severity of climate change impacts. Kyoto borrowed language from the Montreal Protocol on CFC emissions – one of the most successful multilateral environmental treaties in history, adopted in 1987 – binding member states to act in the interests of human safety even in the face of scientific uncertainty.

The protest material, contemporaneous with the ratification period of Kyoto, highlights aspects of the wider public discourse. The ‘Stop Esso’ boycott campaign by Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and People and Planet, targeted Esso’s parent oil company ExxonMobil for their lack of investment in renewable energy, funding of climate denial, and undermining of the Kyoto Protocol. The materials cite a direct connection between ExxonMobil’s actions and the refusal of the USA (under newly-elected President George W Bush) to ratify Kyoto – putting the treaty on weakened footing from the outset.

The campaign’s logo replaced the ‘S’s in Esso with $ signs. Esso sued Greenpeace in France, arguing their campaign damaged the company’s reputation and that the logo resembled that of the Nazi paramilitary organisation. The French court ruled in favour of Esso in 2002, though this was later overturned and the campaign continued to use the logo.