The Netherlands "insufficiently" protects the tiny Caribbean territory of Bonaire from climate change, a Dutch court said on Wednesday, in what Greenpeace hailed as a "huge breakthrough" for environmental justice.

Residents of the Dutch territory off the coast of Venezuela had teamed up with Greenpeace to sue the Dutch government, demanding "concrete measures" to shield the island from rising waters.

The District Court in The Hague ruled that Bonaire residents were "treated differently from the inhabitants of the European part of the Netherlands without good reason," calling it a violation of their human rights.

It ordered the Netherlands to set binding interim targets within 18 months "for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions across the entire economy."

"The judges really listened to us, and I'm extremely happy about that," said Jackie Bernabela, a co-claimant who travelled from Bonaire to be in court.

She said islanders had felt like they were being treated like "second-class citizens."

The ruling follows an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice that countries violating their climate obligations were committing an "unlawful" act.

Greenpeace said before the ruling that it regarded Bonaire as the first major test case following the ICJ's opinion.

The low-lying Netherlands is famous for its protective measures against rising waters, mainly based on an extensive system of barriers and dykes.

But campaigners argued that it was not providing the same protection for its overseas territories such as Bonaire.

They had called for a plan for Bonaire by April 2027 and for the Netherlands to reduce CO2 emissions to zero by 2040 rather than 2050 as agreed at EU level.

The government had argued it was an "autonomous task" of the local authorities to develop a plan to counter the ravages of climate change.

Following the judgement, a spokesperson for the infrastructure ministry said the state was taking the ruling "very seriously" and would study it closely. (AFP)