THE HAGUE – The Netherlands’ Scientific Climate Council has raised concerns about the fragmented and temporary nature of Dutch climate support for Curaçao and the other Caribbean islands, warning that the current approach creates uncertainty over funding, responsibilities and long-term climate planning.
The assessment appears in the Scientific Climate Council’s (WKR) newly published 2026–2027 work program, which includes “Climate and the Kingdom” as a separate advisory project.
For the first time in this program, the council will specifically examine what responsibility the Netherlands has for helping protect all six Caribbean islands of the Kingdom — Curaçao, Aruba, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba — against the growing consequences of climate change.
The WKR describes the Caribbean part of the Kingdom as “particularly vulnerable” to climate change and says the six islands are increasingly experiencing its effects.
The issue is particularly significant for Curaçao because, unlike Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, it is an autonomous country within the Kingdom. Climate policy is therefore primarily a responsibility of the Curaçao government, raising the more complicated question of what obligations the Netherlands has toward the country.
According to the Climate Council, there is currently no political consensus in the Netherlands about the role or responsibility of the Dutch government in protecting the three autonomous Caribbean countries — Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten — against climate change.
The council is already critical of the way assistance has been organized.
It says Dutch support is often “ad hoc, fragmented or temporary,” leaving the islands without sufficient certainty. Without a clearly defined long-term Dutch role and responsibility, the council says, it becomes difficult for the Caribbean islands to count on the Netherlands as a stable partner in developing climate resilience.
That uncertainty has practical consequences.
According to the WKR, the current situation creates ambiguity about money, tasks and the respective roles of governments. It can also delay climate policy in the Caribbean.
For Curaçao, those questions potentially touch a broad range of areas, from coastal protection and water management to infrastructure, nature conservation and preparing communities for increasingly severe climate impacts.
The Climate Council has therefore formulated a central question for its upcoming advice: what responsibility and possibilities does the Netherlands have to help ensure climate resilience throughout the Kingdom, and what forms of cooperation are appropriate?
The outcome could be particularly important for Curaçao because it may help clarify whether Dutch climate assistance should remain largely project-based or become part of a more structural relationship between the countries of the Kingdom.
The WKR is an independent scientific advisory body established in 2022. It advises the Dutch government and parliament on the development of a climate-neutral and climate-resilient society and was formally anchored in the Dutch Climate Act in 2025.
The council says its recommendations are based on scientific knowledge and reports from other advisory bodies and research institutions. During its advisory processes, it also consults scientists, government officials and other stakeholders.
The work program does not specify when the final “Climate and the Kingdom” advice will be published.