Reuters reported that a Dutch court ruled on Wednesday that the state must set binding greenhouse gas emissions targets to reach net zero by 2050 to protect the Dutch-Caribbean island of Bonaire, a decision hailed by climate activists as a breakthrough victory.
The court gave the Netherlands 18 months to set up a legally binding plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 as agreed in international treaties.
A Dutch court ruled on Wednesday that the state must set binding greenhouse gas emissions targets to reach net zero by 2050 to protect the Dutch-Caribbean island of Bonaire, a decision hailed by climate activists as a breakthrough victory.
The court gave the Netherlands 18 months to set up a legally binding plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 as agreed in international treaties.
In hearings last October, Bonaire residents told The Hague district court that climate change had made life on the island unbearably hot and dry and this had affected crops and the health of islanders.
Bonaire, in the southern Caribbean, is a former Dutch colony and became a special Dutch municipality in 2010. It has around 20,000 inhabitants who are Dutch citizens.
The court ruled that Dutch national climate plans do not sufficiently address problems in the Dutch Caribbean, and the Netherlands would now need to make a separate plan for how to mitigate the effects of climate change and rising sea levels on Bonaire.
