The Dutch government has been found to have discriminated against residents of the Caribbean island of Bonaire by failing to adequately protect them from the impacts of climate change, a court in The Hague ruled on Wednesday.
The court ordered the Netherlands to develop a concrete adaptation plan for Bonaire within 18 months and to set legally binding interim targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The ruling stated that the Dutch government breached Articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protect the right to private and family life and prohibit discrimination.
The case was brought by a group of Bonaire citizens and Greenpeace Nederland in early 2024. While the court dismissed individual complaints, it upheld Greenpeace's claim. Jackie Bernabela, one of the claimants, said the ruling showed that collective action can make a difference, adding that Bonaire residents had long felt like 'second-class citizens.'
The court highlighted that Bonaire, a special municipality of the Netherlands since 2010, is particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise, extreme heat, and other climate impacts. Local authorities lack the resources and expertise to address these risks, which have been evident for decades, yet no coherent plan existed. The court also ruled that the Netherlands was not doing its fair share to cut national emissions, given its capacity to pay and historical emissions.
In response, the Dutch minister for climate policy and green growth, Sophie Hermans, described the decision as 'a ruling of significance for the residents of Bonaire and the European Netherlands' and said it would be carefully reviewed. The judgment follows a landmark 2015 ruling by the same court that forced the Dutch government to cut emissions by at least 25% within five years, inspiring climate litigation worldwide.
