Greenpeace Netherlands v State of the Netherlands · C/09/659832 / HA ZA 24-53
The Hague District Court · 28 January 2026
A resident of low-lying Bonaire faces risks to homes, drinking-water infrastructure and cultural sites that differ from those in the European Netherlands. Greenpeace brought a collective claim on residents’ behalf. The district court examined what the Dutch state had actually done to help the island prepare for heat and rising seas.
Why the difference in protection mattered
The court found that the state had taken too little action and treated island residents differently from people in the European Netherlands without adequate justification. Evidence about local exposure and the much later start to adaptation planning helped establish the human-rights breaches.
The two orders made at first instance
The state had eighteen months to put binding interim greenhouse-gas reduction targets for the whole economy into national legislation. It also had to develop and implement a detailed adaptation plan for Bonaire by 2030. The orders directed public action for residents collectively. They did not award individual households compensation.
What happened after judgment
On 10 April 2026 the government told Parliament it would appeal and seek suspension of the emissions-target requirement. That distinction matters to residents following the case: the January decision records what the trial court ordered, while the appeal concerns whether that order should stand.
Read the district court’s English account and link to the judgment · Read the government’s April appeal announcement
More decisions from the Netherlands · Explore the European Case Law Journal · Individual consultation times and fees
