Isabella Kaminski (The Guardian) writes that Bonaire citizens are filing “a formal legal challenge, as research shows part of island will be submerged by 2050.” [Many thanks to Peter Jordens for bringing this item to our attention.]
Eight people from the Caribbean island of Bonaire are suing the Netherlands, accusing it of violating their human rights by not doing enough to protect them from the climate crisis.
The group, with Greenpeace Netherlands, filed a formal legal challenge against the Dutch government in The Hague on Thursday, asking the district court to order it to cut its greenhouse emissions much more quickly and to help its most vulnerable territories adapt to the impact of the climate crisis.
Located nearly 8,000km (about 5,000 miles) from the capital of the Netherlands, Bonaire has been a Dutch special municipality since 2010. But the Netherlands has been present on the island for about 400 years, and in 2022, the government apologised for enslaving its people.
As a low-lying island, Bonaire is likely to experience serious consequences from climate change, including extreme weather and sea-level rise.
An October report from the Dutch meteorological institute (KNMI) found that temperatures in the Caribbean Netherlands had already increased by about 0.2C every decade since the 1980s. Rainfall is declining, particularly in the dry season. Experts expect this to worsen if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise.
Onnie Emerenciana, a farmer living on Bonaire and one of the plaintiffs, said it was already becoming increasingly difficult to grow crops because of the growing heat, wind and unpredictable rain. “It’s becoming very, very, very hard to plant.”
The KNMI report concludes that climate policy that focuses on reducing emissions can make a big difference to the future of Dutch Caribbean islands such as Bonaire. Research by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, commissioned by Greenpeace, shows sea-level rise is likely to permanently submerge parts of the island by 2050, a problem exacerbated by the loss of coral reefs as a natural buffer against the oceans warming and acidifying.
The studies also concluded that the climate crisis would exacerbate health problems on the island and could ruin its cultural heritage and tourism industry. Bonaire is a popular diving destination, and the degradation of coral reefs could lead to the loss of the majority of dive sites, which it is estimated will reduce visitor numbers by more than 100,000.
The group of islanders, most of whom still live on Bonaire and are Dutch citizens, want the Netherlands to tighten its climate goals, so it contributes its “fair share” to keep global heating below 1.5C above preindustrial levels, which would involve reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 – 10 years earlier than its current target.
They also want solid plans, developed with the islands’ inhabitants, to protect Bonaire from the consequences of the climate emergency, to ensure that islanders can continue to live there, and pass on their traditions and culture to their children. Not doing this, they argue, is a breach of their human rights, particularly their right to life, and respect for private and family life.
Eefje de Kroon, the climate justice expert at Greenpeace Netherlands who is working on the case, noted that the Netherlands is known for its advanced water-management strategies on the mainland, but the government has done very little to study how the climate crisis will affect its Caribbean outposts and how they could be protected. The national adaptation strategy excludes the islands completely.
The group sent a pre-litigation “letter before action” to the Dutch government last May, hoping to resolve the issue without going to court. [. . .]
De Kroon said the threat of the lawsuit had already begun to change the government’s approach and raised the profile of the issue. As well as helping Bonaire, she hopes that a positive ruling would benefit those living on other Dutch Caribbean islands. [. . .]
For full article, see https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/11/dutch-caribbean-islanders-sue-netherlands-over-climate-change
“Dutch state sued by Caribbean island residents over climate policies,” Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/dutch-state-sued-by-caribbean-island-residents-over-climate-policies-2024-01-11
[Photo above by Roëlton Thodé/Greenpeace: Residents of Bonaire, together with Greenpeace Netherlands and allies, stand up for climate justice.]
Isabella Kaminski (The Guardian) writes that Bonaire citizens are filing “a formal legal challenge, as research shows part of island will be submerged by 2050.” [Many thanks to Peter Jordens for bringing this item to our attention.] Eight people from the Caribbean island of Bonaire are suing the Netherlands, accusing it of violating their human rights
