Thread by @MehreenKhn

#euco discussion on climate ongoing for a few hours. Some highlights:
- 🇵🇱 reject draft conclusions, demanding removal of reference to carbon pricing. Poles pushing for € to compensate for expanded ETS
- 🇪🇺 VdL confirms cars & buildings will be gradually introduced to ETS

- Polish PM tells #euco Poland faces additional cost of €4bn under new ETS
- 🇷🇴🇧🇬🇱🇻 also warn against steep rise in their national emissions targets if Commission tweaks effort sharing criteria
- Merkel 🇩🇪 and other richer countries want east and others to suck it up on ESR

Predominantly poorer MS that want to use #euco conclusions to reflect concern that headlong rush to net zero will hurt their most vulnerable households. They are unlikely to win which means we're more likely to end up with no conclusions at all

#euco is over. Leaders have removed this section from the climate conclusions on upcoming effort sharing rules

New climate #euco conclusions reflect contentious debate between richer and poorer countries today. We end up with a a nothing 🍔 statement that in the end does no harm to anyone

Von der Leyen acknowledges the commission's plans (ETS) "may have a social impact". An understated way of talking about potentially significant regressive impact of making consumers pay higher fuel and heating bills under expanded ETS (in absence of subsidies, compensation etc)

Von der Leyen confirms commission will propose a mini-ETS for cars and heating with "clear social compensation structure" to prevent regressive impact of extending carbon price to households. "We have to get this right because the transition should be just" #euco

Commission's mini-ETS sounds like a replica of Germany's mini-ETS for cars, buildings set up at the beginning of 2021. Germany, unsurprisingly, is vsupportive. But other countries outside the east, such as France, are wary of provoking a gilet jaunes style backlash #euco

Wrapping up #euco, widespread sentiment among leaders that they support green transition but want assessment of distributional impact of Commission reforms. Draghi said he would not support conclusions without it. Polish PM said he's rarely agreed with so many colleagues 👀