A new course on quantifying the effects of activities, investments, projects, or policies on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using the FAO Ex-Ante Carbon-balance Tool (EX-ACT) is now available online for policymakers, researchers and project managers alike through the FAO’s e-Learning Academy.

Since 2010, EX-ACT has been a valued FAO tool known for helping countries ensure that any agricultural policy intervention that they plan for, or undertake, supports climate change mitigation goals. Over the years it has evolved to reflect scientific developments and recent changes were aimed at meeting growing demand for quality, comprehensive, easy-to use mitigation tools to support a wide-range of decision-makers in reaching their emission reduction goals.

Today, the EX-ACT is the only GHG carbon accounting tool to cover the entire agricultural sector including agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU,) inland and coastal wetlands, fisheries and aquaculture, agricultural inputs and infrastructure, providing policymakers, project managers and researchers with a way to estimate and track at various stages – from the outset at project design or investment phase, throughout the project lifecycle, or at project closure – the outcomes of agricultural interventions on GHG emissions.

Launched in April 2023, the e-learning course offers a unique opportunity for those who are familiar with the tool to discover the latest developments and enhancements, while new users can learn about EX-ACT and explore its features in a more interactive fashion thanks to a more user-friendly e-learning experience.

The "Using EX-ACT to Estimate the Mitigation Potential of Agricultural Interventions" course, which is free and can be taken at any time, consists of 7 lessons, starting with an introduction of the tool and then fundamental modules, followed by several lessons on EX-ACT for use in forestry activities (lesson 3), in cropland activities (lesson 4), in inputs, grasslands and livestock activities (lesson 5), in inland and coastal wetland management (lesson 6), and in fisheries and aquaculture activities (lesson 7).

By the end of the course, learners will be familiarised with the climate-mitigation tool (EX-ACT), understand the data needs and how to populate the data for analysis, as well as how to interpret the results. Upon successful completion, learners will be awarded a digital certification that they can add to their CV and LinkedIn.

The e-learning course been developed by the Economic and Policy Analysis of Climate Change (EPIC) team in the Agrifood Economics Division (ESA) at FAO, together with the FAO e-Learning Academy and supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). It contributes to four UN Sustainable Development Goals: namely, No Poverty (SDG 1), Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12), Climate Action (SDG 13), and Life on Land (SDG 15).

To find out more about the EX-ACT, please write to team at: [email protected].