Climate-Vulnerable Communities Are Taking Governments to Court — and Winning

Bonaire, by Balou46, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In January, a court in The Hague found that the Dutch Government discriminated against people in one of its most vulnerable territories by failing to help them adapt to climate change. 

The lawsuit, brought by a group of citizens from Bonaire, with Greenpeace Nederland, argued that the Netherlands had long-known about severe climate risks facing the Caribbean island but failed to take action.  

The court ruled that this violated Articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and ordered the Dutch state to adopt a comprehensive adaptation plan and establish binding interim emissions targets within 18 months. The Guardian  Jurist 

This judgment is historic: it is the first time a court has held a state liable for discriminating against its own citizens by failing to provide a climate adaptation plan, setting a powerful precedent for other communities in climate‑vulnerable territories. Greenpeace 

International Growth of Climate Litigation 

Climate litigation is now widespread. As of June 2025, there are over 3,099 climate-related cases filed across 55 national jurisdictions and 24 international/regional courts, according to UNEP and Columbia University’s Sabin Center databases.  

The United States leads the world in climate litigation  with 1,986 cases, but there is significant growth in other regions. Australia, Brazil, the UK, and Germany have more than 51 cases each, and there is significant growth in the global south where over 300 cases have been recorded. Columbia 

In 2025, the International Court of Justice issued a landmark decision finding that existing international law obliges all countries to fight global warming – even those not party to the Paris Agreement. Government inaction on climate change may now constitute an “internationally wrongful act”, potentially green-lighting future cross-border climate litigation. Politico 

In 2024, The European Court of Human Rights ruled that insufficient climate mitigation can violate the right to private and family life. Columbia 

Meanwhile, the International Tribunal for the Law of The Sea ruled in 2024 that greenhouse gases constitute marinue polution under the UN Convention on the Laws of the Sea – establishing the responsibility for due diligence on states, and opening the door for future potential action. Columbia 

Why This Matters 

Recent high profile cases – from human rights courts to ocean tribunals make one thing clear. It is now legally possible, and increasingly common, to sue governments for climate inaction across much of the world. 

Courts worldwide are putting pressure on national governments to adopt ambitious adaption and mitigation policies – or face legal consequences.  

For vulnerable countries and communities, especially in low-lying islands and climate-exposed regions, these decisions are becoming essential tools for survival.