SEVILLE, Spain — In sweltering heat, activists flooded the streets of Seville on June 29, calling for climate justice, debt cancellation, and taxing the super rich, just one day before a critical United Nations summit on financing development.

The four-day conference, held only once a decade, aims to shape the global response to poverty, disease, and the climate crisis. Yet hopes for bold action are fading, particularly after the United States withdrew and several wealthy nations reduced their aid commitments.

Among the protest highlights was a float of billionaire Elon Musk depicted as a baby wielding a chainsaw, a stark symbol of corporate excess and environmental disregard. Greenpeace and other groups held banners with messages like “Make Human Rights Great Again”, “Tax Justice Now”, and “Make Polluters Pay.”

“We want dignity, not handouts,” declared Beauty Narteh from Ghana’s Anti-Corruption Coalition, demanding a global shift toward a fairer tax system. Meanwhile, Sokhna Ndiaye of the Africa Development Interchange Network urged both public and private sectors to show “solidarity over selfishness.”

Despite activist frustration, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez struck a hopeful note. Speaking at a Global Citizen event, he praised the summit’s timing in a world beset by conflict and renewed Spain’s promise to commit 0.7% of GDP to development aid, urging other nations to follow suit.

But for many, such gestures are not enough. Jason Braganza, head of the pan-African group Afrodad, criticized countries like the U.S., UK, and EU for blocking a UN convention on sovereign debt, calling it a betrayal of the world’s most vulnerable.

“It’s a shame these countries have chosen to protect creditor interests over human lives,” he said.

As negotiations begin, the gap between diplomatic promises and grassroots demands continues to grow—raising doubts about whether the summit will deliver on its lofty goals.