A court in the Netherlands has ruled that the government’s emissions-cutting and adaptation policies discriminated against and failed to protect citizens of the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire from climate change, in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

In a case brought by Greenpeace, the Hague District Court ruled the government breached Bonaire islanders’ right to a private and family life and discrimininated against them by drawing up policies to adapt Bonaire to climate change later and less systematically than they did for the European part of the Netherlands, despite the islands being more vulnerable to climate change.

Onnie Emerenciana, a farmer plaintiff in the case and one of the 26,000 residents of the Caribbean island, celebrated the decision, saying that the Dutch government can no longer ignore Bonaire’s islanders.

“The court is drawing a line in the sand,” he said. “Our lives, our culture and our country are being taken seriously. The State can no longer look the other way. The next step is to free up funding and expertise for concrete action plans to protect our island. We truly have to do this together; Bonaire cannot solve this alone.”

The Dutch island is located off the Venezuelan coast in the Southern Caribbean, an area that is highly prone to hurricanes, extreme heat and sea level rise. The World Bank estimates that Bonaire could lose up to 12% of its GDP to tropical storms.

ClientEarth fundamental rights lawyer Vesselina Newman said the judgement was “totally groundbreaking” as “it’s the first successful national adaptation case of this scale”. “The ruling, based on discrimination against the inhabitants of Bonaire, is significant, and will surely open doors for a host of comparable cases around the world – in particular other Global North countries with overseas territories.”

Dec 20, 2024 Finance

After Cyclone Chido, France accused of neglecting climate threat to “fragile” Mayotte

Locals and experts say France should have done more to protect residents of its poor island territory from extreme weatherRead moreMar 12, 2025 Justice

Rich nations ignore polluting past to claim climate plans are 1.5C-compatible

But climate campaigners and scientists say historic responsibility means developed countries should cut emissions faster than developing onesRead moreApr 9, 2024 Justice

European court rules climate inaction by states breaches human rights

European Court of Human Rights says Swiss government violated its citizens’ human rights by not doing enough to curb climate changeRead more

To comply with the convention and the Paris Agreement, the court said the government must submit a new binding emissions-cutting target, which includes international aviation and shipping, for 2030 and other interim targets on the way to net zero by 2050. The current target for a 55% reduction on 2019 levels is non-binding and, as the court noted, the government accepts it is “highly unlikely” to meet it.

Rebuke to rich nations

Wealthy nations have argued that their climate targets are compatible with the Paris Agreement goal to limit global warming to 1.5C because they plan to reduce emissions faster than the necessary global average. But the court in The Hague ruled Dutch climate policy “does not make an equitable contribution” to meeting this goal.

The panel of three judges ruled that the Netherlands has emitted more than its fair share carbon through its historic emissions, and has not explained how it is “equitable” that the country’s climate plan allows for higher emissions per person than the global average.

The ruling added that, by not including international aviation and shipping, the Dutch and EU emissions reduction targets are “lower than the UN minimum standards” for developed countries.

Most countries’ climate targets do not include international aviation and shipping, arguing that they should be dealt with globally under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Lawyers Michael Bacon and Emiel Jurjens embrace at the District Court of The Hague (Photo: Marten van Dijl / Greenpeace)

The judges also criticised the government’s adaptation policies as “there is still no climate adaptation plan or integrated climate adaptation policy for Bonaire, even though it has been known for three decades that the island is particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change”. But it said there was still time for adaptation goals under the UN climate regime, which are mostly for 2030, to be met.

Judges order review of climate plan

The ruling gives the Dutch government 18 months to establish binding targets, enshrined in national legislation, that reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the whole economy. It also ordered the government to develop an adaptation plan for Bonaire that can be implemented by 2030.

Dutch climate minister Sophie Hermans said in a statement that the court delivered a “ruling of significance” and that the government would carefully review it. The ruling could still be appealed.

The Netherlands has long positioned itself as a climate leader on the global stage and is currently leading an international coalition to phase out fossil fuel subsidies and co-chairing an upcoming conference on phasing out fossil fuels in the Colombian city of Santa Marta.

After elections in October 2025, the government that will respond to the ruling is likely to be led by liberal Rob Jetten. He was environment minister in the previous government and personally promoted the launch of the coalition against fossil fuel subsidies at COP28 in 2023. “My message to Rob Jetten: bring this ruling to the cabinet’s negotiating table tonight,” said Greenpeace Netherlands managing director Marieke Vellekoop.

The court case builds on a 2024 ruling by the ECHR that the Swiss government breached older Swiss women’s right to a private and family life by not doing enough to cut emissions. Other ECHR members – most of which have similar or less ambitious climate targets and policies than the Netherlands – include most European nations inside and outside of the EU and Turkiye.

The post Court rules Netherlands is not doing enough to meet 1.5C goal and protect Bonaire appeared first on Climate Home News.

From Climate Home News via this RSS feed