European leaders granted a key concession to Ireland as they reached a new long-term deal on climate change early this morning.

Although the leaders stopped well short of setting specific national targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions between 2020 and 2030, they settled on an overall target to reduce emissions by 40 per cent compared with 1990 levels.

The agreement essentially recognises Ireland’s heavy reliance on agriculture so the future build-up of the dairy sector can proceed without running the risk of EU fines for increasing emissions of methane gas.

This marks something of a coup for Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who had argued at the outset of talks against the prospect of “unreachable” targets being set for Ireland.

Even as EU leaders settled on overall targets, they deferred talks on specific national targets until after a UN climate conference in Paris in December 2015.

World leaders will attempt at that conference to set global targets to curb emissions after 2020. The EU is the first big economic bloc to set its own target for this period so goals yet to be set by big world powers such as the US and China will be measured against the European plan.

Outgoing European Council president Herman Van Rompuy said the decision not to set national targets this point was taken at the behest of member states.

“We decided to do so, but it is not in order to water down the objectives to which we agreed.... Be sure, all that was decided now, will be maintained and will not go below what was agreed,” Mr Van Rompuy said.

Following days of intense talks between member states, the leaders also settled on a 27 per cent target for energy consumption from renewable sources by 2030 and a 27 per cent energy efficiency target.

“I can say on the whole that I am satisfied with the progress made,” German chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters .“We have made a crucial step forward.”

In the agreement the leaders endorsed a provision to include agriculture and multiple land use in the calculation of emissions, crucial for Irish interests.

“The multiple objectives of the agriculture and land use sector, with their lower mitigation potential, should be acknowledged, as well as the need to ensure coherence between the EU’s food safety and climate change objectives,” said a communiqué from the leaders.

They invited the European Commission “to examine the best means of encouraging the sustainable intensification of food production, while optimising the sector’s contribution to greenhouse gas mitigation and sequestration, including through afforestation.”

This essentially means that Ireland will be permitted to offset its high proportion of forests, grasslands and bogs, which absorb carbon from the atmosphere, against high methane emissions attributed to agriculture.

This is significant, given plans for a big expansion of Ireland’s national herd after the abolition of EU milk quotas next year.

Mr Kenny had made the point as he arrived at the summit that Ireland’s reliance agriculture was “genuinely different” from all other European states, saying the talks would be “difficult”.

He also said the legacy of the current climate plan, which runs until 2020, was “truly catastrophic” for Ireland as the State had been in a very different financial position at the outset of that agreement.

The leaders also agreed that member states will be required to make 15 per cent of their power generation capacity available to other countries. This followed requests from Spain and Portugal, who are keen to export more energy to neighbouring countries such as France.

Mr Van Rompuy said the deal encapsulated the principles of fairness and solidarity.“It was not easy, not at all, but we managed to reach a fair decision. It sets Europe on an ambitious but cost effective energy path,” he said.