SEO RIDERS:
– Demonstrators in 149 cities call for debt cancellation, wealth taxes, and climate funding.
– Civic groups target Global North, demanding reparations and UN tax and debt conventions.
– Activists warn trillions are needed for sustainable development—calls for bold financial reform.
In the lead‑up to the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) in Seville (June 30–July 3, 2025), thousands of activists marched across 149 cities in 41 countries, demanding major reforms in the global financial architecture. Protesters called for cancelled debts, wealth taxes on the ultra‑rich, and legally binding climate finance from wealthy nations, arguing that these are urgent measures to close the trillions‑dollar development and climate finance gap. Civil society organisations are urging Global North governments and the UN to recognize financial reparations as critical for historical and ongoing injustices.
Key demands also include establishing UN Framework Conventions on Debt and International Tax Cooperation, to democratize debt relief and clamp down on tax evasion by multinationals and elites—who collectively drain public revenues by at least US $492 billion annually. Activists from groups like EURODAD, Climate Action Network International, and the Global Alliance for Tax Justice emphasized that debt burden, tax abuse, and climate impacts are interconnected crises. As Tasneem Essop warned: “The world is on fire – and the systems meant to protect us are feeding the flames”.
