ORANJESTAD – A delegation of young people representing all six Caribbean islands of the Kingdom and the diaspora in the Netherlands has formally asked the parliaments of Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten to place climate adaptation on the agenda of the upcoming Interparliamentary Kingdom Consultation (IPKO), which will be held in February on Aruba. The youth representatives are also requesting five to ten minutes of speaking time to directly present their vision to parliamentarians.
In a letter addressed to the chairs of the Caribbean parliaments and the Dutch House of Representatives, the group argues that climate change poses a direct threat to fundamental human rights in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. They point out that while European Netherlands benefits from legal protections and structural funding for climate adaptation, similar frameworks are lacking for the islands.
At the same time, the youth note that Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten are not internationally recognized as independent states, which limits their direct access to major international climate funds. According to the group, this creates a structural imbalance within the Kingdom when it comes to climate resilience and long-term protection.
The appeal comes shortly before a ruling is expected in a climate lawsuit filed by eight residents of Bonaire together with Greenpeace against the Dutch State. A central demand in that case is that climate adaptation policies must be developed in close consultation with local communities. The youth group describes this as a fundamental issue that affects the entire Kingdom.
“Climate adaptation is still too often approached as a technical or financial problem,” the letter states. “In reality, it is about the protection of human rights and about who has a say over the future of the islands.”
The youth representatives emphasize that local expertise is already widely available across the Caribbean. Scientists, young professionals, and community initiatives are actively working on solutions tailored to island-specific conditions. They point to initiatives such as the Feelin’ Hot Tool as examples showing that knowledge and innovation exist, but that structural embedding and coordinated cooperation within the Kingdom remain insufficient.
According to the group, IPKO is the appropriate platform to reach concrete agreements on shared responsibility, with the Netherlands playing a facilitating role while Caribbean countries retain leadership over their own climate adaptation strategies. If their request is granted, Aruban youth representative Oriana Wouters is expected to address the delegations during the consultation.
