THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A court on Wednesday ordered the Dutch government to draw up a plan to protect residents on the tiny Caribbean island of Bonaire from the effects of climate change — a sweeping victory for the islanders.
The Hague District Court, in a stunning rebuke of Dutch authorities, also ruled that the government discriminated against the island’s 20,000 inhabitants by not taking “timely and appropriate measures” to protect them from climate change before it’s too late.
“The island already suffers from flooding due to tropical storms and extreme rainfall, and according to several researchers, this will worsen in the coming years. Even conservative forecasts predict that parts of the island will be underwater by 2050, so in 25 years,” Judge Jerzy Luiten told a packed courtroom.
Binding targets
The court also ordered the Dutch government to set binding targets within 18 months, laid down in law, to cut greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Climate agreement. That pact, signed just over a decade ago, commits countries to keeping the rise in global temperatures by the year 2100 compared with preindustrial times “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and says they will “endeavor to limit” them even more, to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The case brought by eight Bonaire residents and backed by environmental group Greenpeace, sought to compel the government to better shield its citizens from the effects of increasing temperatures and rising sea levels and could set a precedent for similar legal challenges elsewhere.
Reaction to the ruling
“The judges heard us,” said one of the residents, Jackie Bernabela.
“We are no longer second-class citizens. Equality. I am very happy,” she said in the courtroom as she wiped away tears.
The government can appeal the 90-page written decision. Sophie Hermans, minister for climate policy and green growth, said: “Today, the court delivered a ruling of significance for the residents of Bonaire and the European Netherlands.” She said she would study it with other government departments before responding.
Greenpeace campaigner Eefje de Kroon welcomed the ruling and said that the organization would carefully monitor how the government implements the court’s orders. She called it an “amazing victory” not only for the people of Bonaire, “but for all of us, because the Dutch government needs to do more to stop the climate crisis and actually protect people who are already experiencing the effects.”
Government efforts
The case was heard in The Hague because Bonaire, along with two other islands, St. Eustatius and Saba, became special Dutch municipalities in 2010. The island’s 20,000 residents are Dutch citizens based on their colonial history.
Lawyers for the government argued that the Netherlands already is making strides to combat climate change, citing greenhouse gas reductions and mitigation efforts. Government lawyer Edward Brans said the issue should be handled by national administrations and not judges.
But the court ruled that government efforts weren’t enough, saying a target to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels wasn’t binding and didn’t fully include emissions from air and sea transport. The court also said that the Netherlands was “highly unlikely” to meet its 2030 target.
Political backdrop
The ruling came as weeks of talks to form a new Dutch government following a national election in late October look like producing a new minority coalition headed up by centrist D66 leader Rob Jetten.
He earned the nickname “climate pusher” when he was a minister responsible for shepherding through a raft of legislation intended to reduce the Netherlands’ reliance on fossil fuels and significantly cut its carbon emissions.
Now, the new government that Jetten is expected to lead will have to tighten the measures in line with the court’s ruling.
Groundbreaking decisions
It’s not the first time that The Hague District Court has issued a groundbreaking climate ruling. The same court heard the first stage of the landmark Urgenda case more than a decade ago. That case wrapped up in 2019 when the Dutch Supreme Court ruled in favor of climate activists and ordered the government to cut greenhouse gas emissions, a legal battle that paved the way for similar challenges around the world.
The Urgenda decision featured prominently in recent climate change decisions from the European Court of Human Rights and the United Nations’ highest court, the International Court of Justice. Both courts found that failing to combat climate change violated international law.
In the decade up to 2023, sea levels rose by a global average of around 4.3 centimeters (1.7 inches), with parts of the Pacific rising higher still. The world has also warmed 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.3 Fahrenheit) since preindustrial times because of the burning of fossil fuels.
