The Hague – On January 28, the District Court of The Hague will rule on whether the Netherland’s current climate policy is unlawful for failing to adequately protect the people of the Caribbean island and Dutch special municipality of Bonaire from the impacts of the climate crisis. It’s the first European adaptation ruling on overseas territories that could have groundbreaking legal consequences worldwide.

While the Dutch government does a lot to protect citizens in the European part of the Netherlands from the impacts of climate change, no similar protections have been provided to Bonaire residents, who are already struggling with extreme heat and extreme weather.

Bonaire artist and plaintiff, Jackie Bernabela said the Greenpeace-supported lawsuit offers “a glimmer of hope” for the people of Bonaire.

“We are resisting the slow erosion of hope. Because hope is the cornerstone of action, and we need action now. Wealth will not save you when the water rises. Power will not save you when disease spreads. Only compassion, courage, and unity. That faintest spark of hope that I and others have can awaken a future worth fighting for,” she said.

Eight residents of Bonaire and Greenpeace Netherlands are demanding that a climate adaptation plan be put in place to protect Bonaire locals and that the government reduce Dutch CO2 emissions to zero more quickly. On Wednesday, January 28, at 2 p.m., the District Court of The Hague will rule in the Climate Case Bonaire against the Dutch state. 

This is the first case in Europe where a judge may order a country to implement an adaptation policy protecting people from the impact of climate change. In the recent International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion in The Hague, the judges unanimously ruled that states must keep global warming below 1.5 degrees and that their climate plans must show maximum ambition, taking into account historical emissions and economic capacity. The Bonaire case is the first major test case on a state’s mitigation and adaptation ambition following the ICJ’s groundbreaking ruling and could set a precedent with global relevance.

Marieke Vellekoop, Director of Greenpeace Netherlands, said: “This climate case is crucial. First and foremost for the people of Bonaire, but also for all of us. It is unacceptable and unjust that residents of Bonaire are already experiencing the effects of climate change every day, such as heat and sea level rise, while receiving less protection than people in the European part of the Netherlands. It should not matter where you were born: everyone has the right to protection against floods, storms, and extreme heat.”

ENDS

Notes:

1. The ruling can be followed at 2 p.m. CET via a livestream from the court. The verdict will be published at 3 p.m. CET on Rechtspraak.nl.

2. Would you like to be present in court? Contact the communications department at voorlichting.rbdh@rechtspraak.nl

3. A fifth of Bonaire could disappear
Previous research commissioned by Greenpeace Netherlands shows that the climate crisis is already affecting daily life on Bonaire. Residents are at great risk due to rising sea levels, extreme weather, and dying coral reefs. People are already experiencing the health effects of extreme heat. Without action, up to a fifth of the island could disappear under water by the end of this century. 

4. Dutch government puts big polluters above climate and people
Politicians have watered down climate policy in recent years, and the (outgoing) cabinet will not meet the climate target set out in the Climate Act. Instead, the cabinet is providing fossil fuel subsidies and abolishing the CO2 tax for companies. Nor have any decisions been made in the formation of the new government that are necessary to reduce emissions. “The cabinet is protecting major polluters at the expense of the climate and people. We must not only keep the climate targets in sight, we must achieve them and accelerate them. The time for delaying and postponing must now really be over. Only with robust and fair measures can emissions be reduced more quickly. We demand that the Netherlands at least comply with the Climate Act and make its fair contribution to achieving global climate goals. This means reducing CO2 emissions to zero as quickly as possible. This is possible within the Netherlands by 2040,” said Vellekoop. 

5. Bonaire climate case
Residents of Bonaire and Greenpeace have taken joint legal action to demand fair climate policy from the Dutch state. They are being assisted by lawyers from Kennedy van der Laan and Prakken d’Oliveira. The hearings took place on October 7 and 8, 2025, and were attended by the eight plaintiffs from Bonaire.

Contacts:

Laura Polderman, Greenpeace Netherlands Press Officer: +31 (0)6 2900 1140, laura.polderman@greenpeace.org

Greenpeace Netherlands general press number: +31 (0)6 2129 6895

Davos, Switzerland – As US President Donald Trump arrives in Davos on the first anniversary of his second term, amid escalating trade threats against Europe, Greenpeace warns that the World Economic Forum (WEF) is once again giving a platform to policies that deepen climate chaos, economic instability and inequality.

Clara Thompson, European Lead Campaigner at Greenpeace Germany said:

“Trump’s visit exposes the contradiction at the heart of Davos. Leaders who abandon climate action, threaten economic confrontation and deepen inequality are treated as global leaders, while the costs are pushed onto everyone else. After years of Trump-style politics, we know what happens when extreme wealth runs the show: democracy, climate action and equality are always the first to lose.”

Thompson said Trump’s presence reflects a broader shift toward billionaire-driven politics, reinforced by the World Economic Forum’s own Global Risks Report 2026, which warns of escalating geo-economic confrontation and climate breakdown, while failing to confront the role of extreme wealth and corporate power driving both.

“Trump’s presidency shows what happens when billionaire power goes unchecked. Big tech, fossil fuel interests and powerful political leaders shape global decisions without democratic accountability — and forums like Davos continue to legitimise this model. The WEF is quick to name global risks, but it refuses to look in the mirror and confront the actors fuelling them,” Thompson added.

Thompson stressed Europe must respond to rising tensions with the US by reducing dangerous dependencies. This should begin with the withdrawal of the pledge to purchase USD 750 billion worth of US energy, as well as the ending of all additional agreements to purchase US liquefied gas.

“Doubling down on US fossil gas and unregulated tech monopolies is a strategic mistake. Instead of deeper reliance on billionaire driven power politics, Europe needs energy independence, strong regulation of big tech and fair global tax rules.”

Greenpeace calls on governments to support the UN-led Tax Convention negotiations, arguing that none of the risks discussed in Davos can be solved without systemic reforms of global tax rules that should include making the super-rich and corporate polluters pay their fair share.[1] 

ENDS

Notes: 

[1] Media briefing: UN Tax Convention 

Contacts:

Clara Thompson, European lead campaigner, Fair Share project, Greenpeace Germany: +49 1758530226, clara.thompson@greenpeace.org

Christine Gebeneter, European communications lead, Fair Share project, Greenpeace Austria: +43 664 8403807, christine.gebeneter@greenpeace.org

Greenpeace International Press Desk: +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org

Climate defenders in Australia, the Rainbow Warrior bids farewell to Brazil, and celebrating the Global Ocean Treaty coming into force in the U.K. Here are a few highlights of Greenpeace work around the world over the first weeks of 2026.

Australia – Greenpeace Australia Pacific returns to Lost Paradise Music & Arts Festival in Glenworth Valley, New South Wales, to celebrate the beauty of our wild planet and the movement working to protect it.

Brazil – The Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior bids farewell to Brazil after a tour across three capital cities following COP30 in Belém.

Germany – Greenpeace celebrates the imminent entry into force of the historic UN High Seas Protection Agreement (BBNJ) with an art event in front of the Brandenburg Gate. Greenpeace activists lay out a 5 x 8 metre 3D floor banner that transforms the square into a colourful underwater world. The agreement will enter into force worldwide on 17 January 2026. Ratification by Germany is still pending. Seen here is Greenpeace Campaigner Ocean Protection Franziska Saalmann.

U.K. – A striking new mural is unveiled in St Leonards-On-Sea, East Sussex, to celebrate a landmark moment for global ocean protection: the High Seas Treaty coming into force. The UK artwork, by Richt, features a message in a bottle, a call to action for the UK government to complete signing the ocean Treaty into law as soon as possible, joining the 81 nations including China, France, Japan, Spain, Mexico and Brazil who have already done so.

Indonesia – A portrait of Mariasi Aritonang in front of her home that was affected by the flash floods in Tukka Subdistrict, Central Tapanuli, North Sumatra.

Mauritius – Community-led art installation across Ubay Island, Bohol to commemorate thAs part of the official launch of the Greenpeace Africa office in Mauritius, our creative partner, renowned Mauritian artist Daphne Doomun, created a powerful mural artwork designed to inspire hope, raise awareness, and reinforce the urgent need for ocean protection. This visual statement symbolizes the collective responsibility of communities, institutions, and individuals to safeguard marine ecosystems and reflects Greenpeace Africa’s commitment to protecting at least 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030 for the benefit of present and future generations.

Indonesia – Aid and Donations being delivered after the flash floods in Tukka Subdistrict, Central Tapanuli

Greenpeace has been a pioneer of photo activism for more than 50 years, and remains committed to bearing witness and exposing environmental injustice through the images we capture.

To see more Greenpeace photos and videos, visit our Media Library.

When it happens, on a quiet weekend in January, there will be no fireworks. No ship horns will sound in harbours. Stock market tickers in financial districts will scroll as usual and satellites will hover silently in space, oblivious.

On Saturday 17 January, all anyone will hear will be the sea, doing what it has always done, breathing patient swells at the shores of the world, folding over itself, as if nothing ever changed.

It will look like a ripple – and, in a way, it will be, because that is how the mightiest waves always begin. But on this day, humanity’s relationship with what covers two thirds of our planet will profoundly change.

A historic moment

When the Global Ocean Treaty was agreed in 2023, it was hailed as historic. The ‘biggest conservation victory ever’, people said. A ‘once in a lifetime’ achievement and ‘a sign that in a divided world, protecting nature and people can triumph over geopolitics.’ When Morocco became the 60th country to ratify the Treaty in September, starting a countdown for it to become international law, it was a ‘turning point for humanity’. World leaders called it an ‘immense victory for the planet’, while others said it was ‘the most important accomplishment’ for international cooperation in decades, the greatest achievement for our climate since the Paris Agreement, and ‘the transformation our world needs’. It now gives countries the tools to expand ocean protection through marine protected areas beyond their borders.

A movement of millions

It certainly wasn’t a prize that was won fast – or easily. For over two decades, the mission to obtain the Treaty (also known as ‘BBNJ’ or the ‘High Seas Treaty’) brought together a diverse global movement of Indigenous Peoples, small-scale fishers, NGOs, activists, scientists, lawyers, musicians, actors, artists, campaigners, politicians, coastal communities, mariners, environmentalists, families, businesses and other humans who love and depend on the ocean.

An astonishing diversity of campaigning advocacy was involved – movement building, mass demonstrations, lobbying, research expeditions, losses, failures and obstacles – with people young and old, from every continent, gender, creed, faith and economic background, working together. It took two decades since calls for a treaty, including four years of formal talks, to secure that common goal, which will shape the health of planet Earth for generations to come. But when it came, the billions of people whose lives depend on the ocean had something else to celebrate: hope.

Hope in Action

The Treaty’s environmental and human rights significance cannot be overstated. The high seas are one of the major global commons – the Earth’s shared natural resources – intrinsically linked to the health and happiness of every human on the planet. The ocean captures and stores carbon, generates half of the oxygen we breathe and regulates the climate. It provides food, energy and a livelihood for billions of people and is home to around a quarter of a million marine species that are known to humans – with perhaps twice that number that we’re yet to discover.

But perhaps as important, the Treaty represents a powerful symbol for what humanity can achieve. As 2026 awakens to an accelerating reality of naked extractivist imperialistic aggression, spiralling militarisation, corporate overreach and soaring inequality, the international cooperation and human ambition behind BBNJ is a shining beacon of hope for multilateralism, diplomacy and the human ambition for working together.

Last year, there were mixed outcomes at the COP30 climate conference – a forum that created the Paris Agreement in 2015 but where climate action since has sometimes been marked by a lack of ambition – and the US was accused of ‘thuggery’ at the International Maritime Organisation for intimidating countries into postponing green levies on shipping. Other multilateral fora such as the ongoing quest for a strong Global Plastics Treaty will be watching the way in which governments apply the Global Ocean Treaty keenly.

When it was agreed at the United Nations headquarters in New York, the conference president declared ‘the ship has reached the shore’ and the collective achievement met wild celebration. This was a ship that has been sailed by a cast of millions. That those millions managed to steer the ship of international cooperation to its destination is a triumph of people power and the international community’s ability to defibrillate multilateralism at this scale could change the world.

The ripple that became the wave

Artists all over the world are celebrating the entry into force of the Global Ocean Treaty, also marking the beginning of a crucial four-year countdown to protect 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030 and stop deep sea mining before it begins.

What began as a ripple is now a wave in motion, but it will lose its force if governments around the world do not act now. They must move fast to submit proposals for the first-ever sanctuaries under the new Treaty, where biodiversity can recover, rise and thrive, and to ensure the first ever ‘Ocean COP’ can see the start of their implementation. Our ocean can’t wait, and neither can we.

Ratifications of the Treaty in December by Brazil and China were another welcome boost, adding the countries’ massive diplomatic counterweights to controversial US actions on the ocean, which last year included bypassing international law on deep sea mining – and complementing the many Small Island Developing States (SIDS) that have also provided leadership in the diplomatic arena. Meanwhile, there is important work ahead. Some countries have signed and not ratified – but all countries now need to set the tempo and propose first High Seas sanctuaries.

Multilateralism and international cooperation may seem a highwire act, but it is on that tightrope where the urgent solutions of our time can be unlocked to counteract corporate political capture and autocracy. Humanity has proved it can rise to the challenge – but a new clock is now ticking. Who will be the first to make more history?