Recourse Annual Report 2023

Read about our work and impact in the Recourse Annual Report 2023

The world of development finance saw big shifts in 2023

The World Bank’s appointment of its new President, Ajay Banga, in June marked a new direction and a renewed emphasis on the private sector first approach. In July, a number of the major multilateral development banks (MDBs) announced the alignment of their operations to the Paris Agreement – while leaving huge loopholes for fossil gas.

The Asian Development Bank finally released the first draft of its new environmental and social safeguards, while the International Finance Corporation responded to pressure with a framework for providing remedy for communities harmed by its projects. Meantime, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank began a review of its accountability mechanism – which in its five years of existence has yet to accept a single complaint.

The International Monetary Fund continued to ignore the systemic nature of the debt crisis that pushes countries to pay more in debt servicing than they spend on climate action, health or education. And we saw hugely increasing demand for critical minerals as the world begins to transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy.

Recourse was at the forefront of all these issues:

Producing evidence-based research and engaging in hard-hitting and effective advocacy; supporting partners to travel to key meetings to bring their demands direct to decision-makers; raising our voices in solidarity with those affected by the climate crisis; and supporting communities to file complaints to the MDBs’ accountability mechanisms to seek justice.

Our team and our budget doubled in 2023, enabling us to do more and increase our impact. We are grateful to our funders for believing in us and the way we work; thank you to our great team for your dedication and energy in making change happen, but most of all thank you to the allies and partners we work with all over the world, whose commitment inspires everything we do.

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