The Environmental eXternalities ACcounting Tool (EX-ACT)

The Environmental eXternalities ACcounting Tool (EX-ACT, previously EX-Ante Carbon balance Tool) helps users estimate and track the impact of agrifood systems interventions on the environment, and especially greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and biodiversity. The EX-ACT online app makes evaluation of environmental externalities digital and more accessible. It allows users to work online, manage data efficiently, and collaborate across teams and institutions, simplified and flexible reporting and monitoring.

Developed by the FAO Agrifood Economics and Policy Division (ESA), EX-ACT supports evidence-based decision-making by assessing agricultural commodities across the entire production, processing and distribution value chain. The tool complements standard economic valuation by quantifying climate, biodiversity and broader environmental services outcomes of planned, ongoing and implemented interventions. This allows public and private stakeholders to access climate finance and steer investments towards higher sustainability.

The tool is primarily based on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) methodologies (IPCC 2006, 2014, 2019) and complemented by scientific literature. Users can also integrate their own data to increase accuracy using Tier 2 and 3 parameters. 

Starting from January 2026, the tool has also expanded beyond carbon accounting to evaluate how projects, policies, and investments affect ecosystems. Using the Mean Species Abundance (MSA) metric, developed by the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL), EX-ACT assesses biodiversity under pressures including land use, infrastructure, habitat fragmentation, and human encroachment. The tool also provides complementary indicators to connect ecological integrity with socioeconomic value.

EX-ACT videos

Guidance videos for each EX-ACT module

Relevant publications

News

E-learning

Collaborations

EX-ACT supports the quantification of climate impacts for Climate Investment Notes developed by countries participating in the Hand-in-Hand Initiative

Related activity

Area of work