The Dutch government is to appeal against January’s ground-breaking court ruling in which judges said that the Netherlands has failed to take sufficient measures to protect the former Dutch colony of Bonaire from climate change.

Climate minister Stientje van Veldhoven signalled the appeal on Friday afternoon.

According to Telegraaf, ministers have concluded the lower court ruling is “substantively flawed”. In recent weeks, the cabinet has examined the verdict together with lawyers from three ministries and has “compelling legal reasons” to file an appeal, the paper said.

The ruling by judges at The Hague district court gave the government 18 months to set binding targets for greenhouse gas emissions for the entire economy of the Netherlands, not just the European side.

Eight people from the Caribbean island of Bonaire had joined forces with environmental organisation Greenpeace to sue the Dutch government for failing to protect them against climate change. Bonaire is still part of the Netherlands and has the position of an independent local authority area.

“The cabinet wants to assure people living in the Dutch Caribbean that it does take their concerns about climate change extremely seriously,” the cabinet letter, which is not yet online, is quoted as saying.

Officials are now working on a climate plan for the region and will ensure that the region is included in other plans to deal with climate change, the letter stated.

Greenpeace described the government’s decision to appeal as “scandalous and short-sighted” and a “waste of money”.

“We will not led the people of Bonaire down, and we will continue to fight for climate justice,” director Marieke Vellekoop said. “The right to a safe future should not depend on where in the Netherlands you live.”