Milieudefensie v. ING

On January 18, 2024, Milieudefensie, the Dutch member of Friends of the Earth, told ING that it held the bank liable for contributing to dangerous climate change. It pointed to ING’s financing of high-emitting companies. ING replied in February 2024 and again on February 4, 2025, after new demands. On March 28, 2025, Milieudefensie served a summons on ING Groep and ING Bank in the District Court of Amsterdam. It brought a collective action under the Dutch Act on Collective Damages Claims (WAMCA). Roger Cox, who acted for Milieudefensie against Shell, leads its legal team.

Milieudefensie alleges that ING, as a large systemic bank, breaches an unwritten duty of care under Dutch law. It asks the court to order ING to align its climate policy with the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement. ING would have to cut its emissions, including those it finances, by at least 48% for CO2 and 43% for all greenhouse gases by 2030 against 2019. ING would also have to require credible climate plans from large corporate clients. It would have to stop new financing for fossil fuel companies that expand production or lack a phase-out plan.

ING filed its statement of defense on February 17, 2026. It calls the demands unrealistic and unreasonable and says that they would force it to stop doing business with many companies and homeowners. ING argues that other banks would finance clients it dropped, so real-world emissions would not fall. It also argues that Dutch and EU climate and banking laws deliberately do not require banks to leave emission-intensive sectors, and that its own targets are science-based.

On September 9, 2026, the court held Milieudefensie admissible. It found that whether the orders would actually reduce emissions, as ING disputes, is a question for the merits. It also rejected ING’s argument that Milieudefensie misleads its supporters into thinking that ING itself emits the financed emissions. The court ordered a further written round and asked Milieudefensie to confine its reply to eight themes. Milieudefensie’s reply is due on December 2, 2026, and ING’s rejoinder on March 3, 2027. A two-day hearing is planned for the second half of the second quarter of 2027.