No one disputes that fighting climate change has become a harder sell as a result of the financial and economic crises sweeping the globe. But the concessions made to heavy industries at Friday’s summit of EU leaders are a high price to pay for political unity.

In a race to protect their economic interests as recession bites, EU member states ensured that the winners in a weakened plan to require utilities and manufacturers to buy pollution permits via auction will be German metalbashers and Poland’s power stations.