R. Scott Kemp, lecturing in MIT's course 22.04 Social Problems of Nuclear Energy, examines how economists and policymakers connect climate goals to energy policy. He lays out cost-benefit analysis, the role of markets, and Pareto optimality as frameworks for evaluating policy choices, then argues that zero-carbon targets, treated as absolute mandates, can lead to worse outcomes than approaches that weigh carbon reduction against other costs and benefits. The session runs eighty-one minutes and builds on the course's broader examination of nuclear energy's place in a decarbonizing economy, using economic theory rather than engineering detail as its main tool. Kemp works through the logic of why a strict zero-carbon rule can be economically inefficient, pressing students to think about trade-offs rather than treating emissions targets as self-evidently correct policy.