The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic radically reshaped daily life across Europe, prompting Bankwatch to adapt its advocacy to new challenges.  

As chair of the Green 10 network, Bankwatch urged the European Commission to ensure that national recovery and resilience plans aligned with the European Green Deal. It also pioneered the first civil society assessment of these plans, highlighting poor public engagement and risks to climate objectives.  

In July, the EBRD launched its Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM), replacing its previous Project Complaint Mechanism. The new mechanism was updated to include a new structure and direct reporting lines to the Board, enhancing its functional independence.  

In October, owing to the ongoing pandemic, Bankwatch convened the first-ever virtual dialogue between civil society and the EBRD’s Board of Directors, fostering greater transparency and accountability. 

In the same month, our inaugural Lung Run was held in Bitola, North Macedonia. Due to the pandemic, the event shifted online, with participants using the Strava platform to track their runs and monitor air-pollution levels around the city’s coal-fired power plant.  

In December, the European Ombudsman opened an inquiry into the EIB’s financing of the Southern Gas Corridor, following a Bankwatch complaint alleging that the EIB underestimated the project’s climate impact. 

Throughout the year, Bankwatch’s campaign on the Nenskra hydropower project in Georgia led to compliance reviews by the EIB and the EBRD, which found both banks non-compliant with their indigenous peoples policies. As a result, both institutions improved their safeguards, requiring free, prior, and informed consent from affected communities.