Here, dbc is relatively lower than the carrier power (if there's no carrier, it's relative to the average power), so it should be as large as possible. Whether or not a negative sign is included doesn't change the meaning. If Pcarrier = 5W, then PEP must also be greater than 5W, because it represents the maximum envelope power. Even if PEP = 5W, 43 + 10log(5)=49.9 dBm is very close to 50 dBc, so if PEP can be slightly higher, it can directly use 50 dBc.