Overview

• Eight residents from the Dutch Caribbean island told judges the island has become unbearably hot and dry, citing crop losses, health harms, and risks to historic shoreline huts.
• The plaintiffs ask the Netherlands to reach net-zero emissions by 2040, a decade earlier than its current timeline, and to strengthen protections against sea-level rise.
• Greenpeace backs the suit, warning that parts of Bonaire could be permanently submerged by 2050.
• Government lawyers contend that courts should not set policy and that Dutch emissions are only a small share of a global problem, while pointing to ongoing mitigation.
• Proceedings at the District Court of The Hague continue this week, with any ruling expected to apply to the whole island despite only eight named plaintiffs.