St. Vincent & Grenadines
On January 11, 2024, Greenpeace Netherlands and eight citizens of the island of Bonaire sued the Dutch State for violating the rights of the inhabitants of the Caribbean island of Bonaire by not adequately and promptly assuming its responsibility to curb climate change.
The plaintiffs argued that the Dutch state failed to take appropriate measures to protect the inhabitants of Bonaire and breached its obligations under the Paris Agreement. They pointed out that the human rights of Bonaire's residents were not respected, as they received different treatment than those in the Netherlands. Furthermore, they argued that the state failed to consider the island's high vulnerability, including increased heat stress, rising sea levels, water scarcity, ecosystem degradation, and the right to health.
They asked the District Court of The Hague to order the government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to develop a concrete climate change adaptation plan for Bonaire.
The lawsuit also highlighted structural inequalities, such as high levels of poverty on the island, and argued that these factors required greater state attention, under the principles of equality and non-discrimination.
The plaintiffs claimed that the Netherlands' mitigation and adaptation actions were insufficient and incompatible with the special needs and disproportionate vulnerability of the inhabitants of Bonaire, as well as the island's complex historical and political context, arguing that due diligence required timely and effective adaptation measures to the specific risks faced by the population of Bonaire, including impacts on health, housing, livelihoods and cultural life.
On January 28, 2026, the District Court of The Hague issued a landmark ruling in the climate litigation, forcing the State of the Netherlands to take stronger measures to protect the Caribbean island of Bonaire from the effects of climate change.
The court stated that the inhabitants of Bonaire faced disproportionate climate risks, including serious risks to their health and well-being, and that the State had not adequately justified the differentiated treatment it afforded Bonaire in its climate policies compared to the rest of the Netherlands. The court ordered that, within 18 months, the State must incorporate greenhouse gas reduction targets into national legislation, ensuring that by 2030, Bonaire has a detailed climate change adaptation plan to increase the island's resilience to climate impacts.
The decision is noteworthy for its grounding in international human rights law, its emphasis on equality and non-discrimination within the national territory, and its analysis of international and regional climate jurisprudence. It also represents a significant step forward in climate litigation concerning states' obligations to protect particularly vulnerable territories from the impacts of climate change, being the first case in Europe to apply a recent advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (2025) on climate obligations, concluding that the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement is legally binding.
Implementation
The Hague District Court ruled that the Dutch state was not doing enough to protect the inhabitants of Bonaire from climate change and its consequences. It further argued that the people of Bonaire had been treated differently from the inhabitants of the European Netherlands without any justification, constituting a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The decision ordered the state to incorporate binding interim targets into national legislation within 18 months to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the economy and to develop and implement a detailed plan by 2030 to make the small island of Bonaire more resilient to the effects of climate change.
In its ruling, the Court stated that the Dutch state had failed to comply with a climate policy aimed at limiting global warming to a maximum of 1.5°C and had also failed to take timely and adequate measures to protect the residents of Bonaire from the consequences of climate change. It highlighted the island's high vulnerability to climate change and the fact that its coral reefs were threatened by rising sea levels combined with ocean acidification and warming. This ruling is groundbreaking: it is the first successful national adaptation case of this magnitude. The judgment, based on discrimination against the inhabitants of Bonaire, is significant and will undoubtedly pave the way for a number of similar cases worldwide, particularly in other countries of the Global North with overseas territories.
- Greenpeace
- Citizens of Bonaire
- Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth
- Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management
- Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations
Bonaire is located on the leeward coast of the Caribbean, about 90 kilometers off the coast of Venezuela. Bonaire has an area of 288 km² and approximately 26,000 inhabitants.
The island is a former Dutch colony that became one of its municipalities in 2010, following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. It has been governed by the Netherlands since the 17th century. Located almost 8,000 kilometers from the Dutch seat of government in The Hague, Bonaire faces a number of specific climate risks, including extreme heat. The island also faces an increasing threat from rising sea levels, even compared to the Netherlands, which is famous for its low altitude and susceptibility to flooding.
Small islands are particularly vulnerable to climate change due to their fragile ecosystems, small economies, and often extensive low-lying coastal areas. Therefore, small islands, such as those in the Dutch Caribbean, are expected to suffer severe consequences from rising temperatures, changes in rainfall patterns, sea-level rise, coral bleaching, cyclones, droughts, and flooding.
According to estimates, a fifth of Bonaire could be submerged by the end of this century due to rising sea levels caused by climate change. This is according to a study by the Free University of Amsterdam (VU), commissioned by Greenpeace. Furthermore, the study predicts that rising temperatures on the island will exacerbate human health problems, ranging from mosquito-borne diseases to heat stress and mental health issues. The livelihoods and culture of Bonaire's inhabitants are also at risk.
International agreements/treaties
- Paris Agreement
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
- Advisory Opinion 32/2025
- European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR)
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
- Kyoto Protocol
- Cancun Adaptation Framework 2010
- Aarhus Convention
National laws
- Dutch Climate Law
Beginning
- Principle of prevention
- Principle of equality and non-discrimination
- Principle of due diligence
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