At a side event during the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Belem, Brazil, Zhang Yongsheng, director of the Research Institute for Eco-civilization at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, highlighted the detrimental impact of misleading narratives on the global scaling of clean energy. The event, themed ‘Net-Zero Emission Transition Led by Global Green Actions,’ emphasized the urgent need to address misconceptions about overcapacity in renewable energy, which are creating artificial barriers to achieving the 1.5°C global warming target. Zhang stressed that redefining climate benefits to include economic gains from new industrial growth, rather than solely focusing on avoided damages, is crucial to breaking these barriers. Citing the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, Zhang warned that the world is significantly off track to meet the 1.5°C target, even if all countries fulfill their current climate action pledges. He underscored the enormous action deficit threatening this goal and called for a paradigm shift in how climate benefits are perceived and communicated.