It is a full 9°C colder across the world today than the 24°C global average over the past 485 million years (Judd et al., Science 2024). So how could we have been facing an existential global warming threat? Earth is not even remotely facing runaway warming now or in the near future, and reaching the dramatic prediction of a 5.5°C rise by 2100 is virtually impossible. The climate crisis narrative was built upon this predicted warming scenario, which is now widely acknowledged by scientists as implausible. First introduced in 2011 to guide policy, this extreme scenario - known as RCP8.5 (and later SSP5-8.5) - served as the primary engine for terrifying 'business-as-usual' headlines for over a decade. Those apocalyptic projections simply did not occur. Traditional hydrocarbon fuels supply roughly 81% of primary global energy, yet global carbon emissions have structurally flattened. Meanwhile, wind and solar account for only around 6.5% of total primary energy. With the retirement of the extreme 5°C baseline ahead of the 7th Assessment Report (AR7), the ceiling for high-emissions projections has dropped significantly, with proposed high-end baselines downgraded toward a maximum around 3.3°C. One lesson is that modestly rising CO₂ concentrations do not automatically trigger runaway temperatures. We have seen this in worldwide greening identified by NASA satellites. Carbon dioxide remains a trace atmospheric gas - around 420 parts per million - making it among the lowest concentrations in geological history, while the atmosphere is over 99% nitrogen, oxygen, and argon, with water vapor exceeding CO₂ many times over. This deceptive original scenario - promoted heavily through the United Nations - became the primary justification for Net Zero. It forced the premature decline of reliable energy systems across Western nations, leading to widespread economic strain and a massive transfer of industrial capacity to Beijing. China now manufactures the vast majority of the world's wind turbines, solar panels, and critical battery components, powered largely by the world's largest fleet of coal-fired power stations. China produces over half the world's steel and accounts for nearly a third of all human-caused CO₂ emissions. The old fear narrative - 'We are on track for a 5°C apocalypse if we don't immediately upend the global economy' - is finally dead.