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

Since 2010, EX-ACT has been a valued tool 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, meeting the growing demand for quality, comprehensive, easy-to-use mitigation tools to support a wide range of decision-makers in reaching their emission reduction goals.

EX-ACT is the only greenhouse gas carbon accounting tool to cover the entire agricultural sector including agriculture, forestry and other land use, 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 greenhouse gas emissions.

Launched in April, the eLearning 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 free Using EX-ACT to estimate the mitigation potential of agricultural interventions course can be taken at any time and consists of seven 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 EX-ACT, understand the data needs and how to populate the data for analysis as well as how to interpret the results. Upon completion, learners will be awarded a digital certification that they can add to their CV and LinkedIn.

The course was developed by the Economic and Policy Analysis of Climate Change team, together with the FAO eLearning Academy and supported by IFAD. It contributes to SDGs - 1, 12, 13, and 15.

To find out more, write to the team at: [email protected].