The Paris Agreement, a decade old, faces scrutiny over its effectiveness in addressing climate change. Developing nations, including China, India, and Brazil, are asserting their rights, demanding promised financial and technological resources, and pushing back against energy policy constraints. At COP30, these countries successfully included their demands in the final outcome and blocked a fossil fuel phase-out language, signaling a shift in power dynamics, particularly in the absence of the US. China played a crucial role in these developments.