Get ready for the new EX-ACT suite of tools!
The Ex-Ante Carbon balance Tool (EX-ACT) suite of tools will be moving to a brand-new online platform. A pilot version is now being tested by selected stakeholders, and a full version will be made available online in autumn.
The online version will integrate yearly accounting of greenhouse fluxes from agricultural activities and allow for the integration of geospatial information to improve the reliability of analyses. It will also feature a new, more user friendly experience, aiming at simplifying accounting and reporting for all users of the tool.
We look forward to sharing the new EX-ACT suite of tools with you!
The EX-ACT suite of tools
The EX-ACT suite of tools is composed of three complementary tools, aiming at providing guidance in estimating the value of nature’s contribution to people in the form of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions mitigation and avoidance and biodiversity preservation. The tools can be used individually or together, to focus on specific elements of projects and policies or to elaborate a holistic overview of their environmental impacts.
Ex-Ante Carbon-balance Tool | EX-ACT
EX-ACT quantifies the amount of greenhouse gas released or sequestered from agricultural production. It covers the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector, coastal and inland wetlands, fisheries and aquaculture, agricultural inputs and infrastructure. It can be used at any stage of the intervention – the design, monitoring and evaluation of projects and policies to support informed decision-making processes. It can assess individual projects and policies, but also investment portfolios as well as national level programs and strategies.
Version 9.4 is based on the 2019 Refinement of the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, their 2014 supplement for wetlands as well as many other scientific sources. The tool covers the entire agricultural sector including Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU), inland and coastal wetlands, fisheries and aquaculture, agricultural inputs and infrastructure.
Biodiversity Integrated Assessmentand Computation Tool | B-INTACT
B-INTACT looks at the biodiversity impacts of agricultural activities. It makes use of various geo-referenced maps and tools to increase accuracy and account for the ecological value and biodiversity sensitivity of intervention sites. It can be used at any stage and at any scale of the intervention.
Version 1.0 is based on the Global Biodiversity (GLOBIO) Model Version 3.6 developed by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL), as well as on the Ecosystem Service Valuation Database (ESVD).
EX-Ante Carbon-balance Toolfor value chains | EX-ACT VC
EX-ACT VC analyses the effects of interventions along the agricultural value chains. It supports policy makers in identifying off-farm sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and farm-to-retail socio-economic benefits when designing projects and policies for low carbon value chains. It supports analysis of interventions at small and medium scale.
Version 3.5 adapts the main methodology from the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories and the 2019 Refinement. It adapts FAO’s Food Loss Index for Sustainable Development Goals, and uses other relevant scientific sources to cover emission factors from transportation and packaging.