{"id":60104371,"date":"2026-02-04T09:29:40","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T09:29:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?p=60104371"},"modified":"2026-02-06T18:35:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T18:35:09","slug":"bonaire-v-netherlands-the-island-suing-for-climate-protection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/bonaire-v-netherlands-the-island-suing-for-climate-protection\/","title":{"rendered":"Bonaire v Netherlands: The island that sued for climate protection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor\u2019s note: The following update was added by our ocean editor Daniel Cressey after the court ruling of 28 January 2026. The original story, published on 16 October 2025, is below the update and unchanged.<\/em>

A court in the Netherlands has declared that the Dutch government is violating human rights and failing to properly protect those living on its Caribbean territory of Bonaire, in the latest major climate change litigation ruling.

\u201cThe court is drawing a line in the sand. Our lives, our culture, and our country are being taken seriously,\u201d said<\/a> Onnie Emerenciana, a farmer on the island that is facing growing threats from climate change.

The District Court of The Hague ruled<\/a> that the government has not done enough to limit global warming or help Bonaire adapt to its consequences.

\u201cThe state is pursuing a climate policy that does not comply, in a binding and transparent manner, with the measures that must be taken worldwide to limit global warming to a maximum of 1.5C by the end of this century,” the court said. “The state has also failed to take timely and appropriate measures to protect the residents of Bonaire from the consequences of climate change.\u201d

Greenpeace and some of the island\u2019s 26,000 island residents, including Emerenciana, brought the case. The group said<\/a> that in the wake of the ruling the Dutch state must now overhaul its climate policy and provide funding to protect residents of Bonaire from the impacts of climate change such as rising sea levels and extreme heat.

Vesselina Newman, a lawyer at NGO ClientEarth, said the ruling showed how influential international law was becoming in climate policy.

\u201cThis judgment is totally groundbreaking \u2013 it\u2019s 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 \u2013 in particular other Global North countries with overseas territories,\u201d she said.<\/a>

The Dutch government has promised to respond, with Sophie Hermans, its climate minister calling the ruling \u201cof significance for the residents of Bonaire and the European Netherlands\u201d, according to media <\/a>reports<\/a>. The court case is one of several decisions on climate change made in recent years by European courts. Below you can read the original analysis of the case by expert reporter on climate litigation Isabella Kaminski.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>The Dutch state has been accused in court this month of violating the rights of people on the Caribbean island of Bonaire by failing to properly engage with its responsibility for curbing climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bonaire is a former colony of the Netherlands that became one of its municipalities in 2010, following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. It has been run from the Netherlands since the 17th century. Located nearly 8,000 kilometres away from the Dutch seat of government in The Hague, Bonaire has a specific set of climate risks, including extreme heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The island also faces a heightened threat from sea-level rise \u2013 even when compared with the famously low-lying and flood-prone Netherlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLife on Bonaire is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive,\u201d Onnie Emerenciana, a farmer in his 60s and one of those involved in bringing the case, told the court<\/a>. \u201cFor us, climate change isn\u2019t a distant, distant threat. It\u2019s here. It\u2019s breathing down our necks, burning our skin, and penetrating our homes.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emerenciana is part of a group of Bonaire islanders who, together with the Dutch branch of the environmental NGO Greenpeace, filed a legal claim against the Netherlands in early 2024. They asked the district court in The Hague to order the government to cut greenhouse gas emissions much more quickly than it plans to, and to develop a concrete climate change adaptation plan for Bonaire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/div>
Residents of Bonaire, Onnie Emerenciana (front row, left), Jackie Bernabela, and Angelo Vrolijk, with Marieke Vellekoop (back row, left), director of Greenpeace Netherlands, and lawyer Emiel Jurjens. They were speaking at the district court in The Hague earlier this month about the urgency of a concrete climate adaptation plan (Image \u00a9 Marten van Dijl \/ Greenpeace)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In September last year, the court rejected those complaints that were made by individuals. That decision was similar to the conclusion made by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in a landmark climate judgment<\/a> last year, which set a high threshold for individuals attempting to bring climate cases before it. But it did admit Greenpeace\u2019s claim as an organisation, and the district court of The Hague heard the opening claims in the case this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facing an impossible future<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A fifth of Bonaire could be underwater by the end of this century due to sea level rise driven by climate change if no action is taken. That is according to research<\/a> from the Free University of Amsterdam (VU), commissioned by Greenpeace. Furthermore, rising temperatures on the island are expected to exacerbate human health problems, ranging from mosquito-borne diseases to heat stress and declines in mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The livelihoods and culture of people on Bonaire are also at risk.

The Dutch and Bonaire authorities have funded breeding projects to help restore corals and to make them more diverse and adaptable, but have not turned these into long-term commitments. For this reason, Greenpeace fears measures being taken to protect nature such as these could eventually be discontinued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sea is warming, destroying coral and mangroves \u2013 our island\u2019s natural protection. Fish are disappearing and fishermen are losing their livelihoods<\/blockquote>Onnie Emerenciana, farmer and original plaintiff in the Bonaire case<\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The NGO also notes that traditional professions on the island, including farming and fishing, are becoming increasingly difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Greenpeace is taking the legal lead, the Bonaire islanders remain heavily involved in the lawsuit. Three of the original plaintiffs, including Emerenciana, spoke in court<\/a> about how climate change is already affecting their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Underwater<\/div>
Bonaire\u2019s corals are suffering from bleaching due to warming seas. The Dutch and Bonaire authorities have funded projects to help restore reefs, but campaigners say there has been a lack of long-term commitments (Image: Ines Porada \/ Alamy)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Extended dry seasons are making it harder to farm, while the cascading impacts for vegetation in general are threatening species such as the local green iguanas nicknamed boomkip<\/em> (tree chicken), as well as the ecosystem as a whole. And when it does rain, it rains harder and streets flood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emerenciana says the ocean around the island is changing, too: \u201cThe sea is warming, destroying coral and mangroves \u2013 our island\u2019s natural protection. Fish are disappearing and fishermen are losing their livelihoods.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meeting obligations, or double standards?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Dutch government has acknowledged Bonaire faces risks from climate change, and that the Netherlands has an obligation to take effective measures to reduce its national greenhouse gas emissions. But in court, its lawyer maintained the Netherlands was already doing enough to meet its legal duties. Another line of defence was that the matter is ultimately one for politicians to resolve, not the judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement, the Dutch government said it was working at both the national and European levels with clear \u201ctargets for climate neutrality by 2050\u201d, and that the Dutch Climate Act ensures progress with \u201ca system of monitoring, accountability, and adjustment of climate policy\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe state is implementing effective climate policy, also to protect Bonaire against the consequences of climate change,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>
Recommended<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, Greenpeace told the court that the Dutch government is protecting the residents of Bonaire less effectively against the consequences of climate change than it protects those who live in the European Netherlands. \u201cThis is not only unacceptable, it violates the fundamental rights of the people on the island,\u201d said Marieke Vellekoop, director of Greenpeace Netherlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Dutch state asserts that the differences in protection from the impacts of climate change offered to the Netherlands compared to Bonaire are explained by their differences in climate and geography. Vellekoop sought to rebut this by accusing it of \u201cdouble standards\u201d. The more perilous state of Bonaire should result in more protection, said Greenpeace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NGO wants the Dutch government to do its \u201cfair share\u201d to keep the average global temperature rise to below 1.5C, and to set a goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 \u2013 much tougher than the country\u2019s current 2050 target<\/a>. It also wants the government to produce a climate adaptation plan for Bonaire, in collaboration with the islanders themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A ruling is due on 28 January. In theory, the Netherlands could be ordered to take steps to accelerate reductions in its carbon emissions. But whether this is enforceable in practice is unclear, say experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Aerial<\/div>
A fifth of low-lying Bonaire could be underwater by the end of this century due to sea level rise. Greenpeace told the court that the Dutch government is protecting the residents of Bonaire less effectively against the consequences of climate change than it protects those who live in the European Netherlands (Image: LOOK foto \/ Image Professionals \/ Alamy)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

High risk of climate impacts \u2013 and litigation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Netherlands has proved to be a fertile jurisdiction for climate litigation. In 2015, the same court in The Hague ordered the Dutch government to cut greenhouse gas emissions in a case<\/a> brought by Urgenda, a Dutch nonprofit foundation. The decision was later upheld<\/a> by the country\u2019s supreme court, which smoothed the path for many similar lawsuits<\/a> across the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There have been several other important decisions on climate change made in recent years by European courts. Last year, the ECHR ruled<\/a> Switzerland must do much more to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to stop breaching its citizens\u2019 human rights. That case was brought by a group of Swiss women calling themselves the KlimaSeniorinnen<\/em> (climate senior women). Enforcement of the decision has proved<\/a> problematic because the Swiss state continues to maintain that it is already doing enough to cut its national emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But while most of these lawsuits have focused on mitigating climate change, the Bonaire case is one of a nascent group focused on adapting to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As well as court rulings, Greenpeace\u2019s legal team is relying on recent advisory opinions on climate change by the International Court of Justice<\/a> and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights<\/a>. Both say states have clear legal duties to address climate change and to help communities adapt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>
Recommended<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n

Lucy Maxwell, co-director of the Climate Litigation Network, says: \u201cThe Bonaire case will test these obligations in a national context, 10 years on from the Urgenda climate case, in the country where climate litigation took off. If successful, the Netherlands will need to increase its climate ambitions beyond the current European Union targets \u2013 setting a new bar for climate action in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the hearing, Emerenciana said the Bonaire islanders were pleased to have told their stories but disappointed with the state\u2019s stance. He noted that the Netherlands established its so-called Delta Programme<\/a> years ago, which plans for sea-level rise and other climate impacts for its European territory:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey stated that there is no plan for Bonaire yet, like a Delta plan in the European Netherlands, because we have not yet experienced a disaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt shouldn\u2019t be the case that a disaster happens before a plan can be drawn up; then there is no protection. These have been long, difficult days, but we remain determined.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Dutch government is not doing enough to help residents of its Caribbean territory to adapt to climate change, according to a \u2018groundbreaking\u2019 court ruling<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3170,"featured_media":60104399,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[761,50039900,50039901],"tags":[519,560,50040749],"hashtags":[],"country":[50040731],"class_list":["post-60104371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate","category-justice","category-ocean","tag-climate-impacts","tag-law","tag-livelihoods","country-netherlands"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBonaire v Netherlands: The island that sued for climate protection | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Dutch government is not doing enough to help residents of its Caribbean territory to adapt to climate change, according to 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