The Ex Ante Appraisal Carbon-Balance Tool (EX-ACT) is an Excel-based model that provides ex-ante estimations of the impact of agriculture and forestry development projects, programs, and policies on net carbon emissions.

EX-ACT is a land-based accounting system, estimating C stock changes (i.e. emissions or sinks of CO₂) as well as GHG emissions per unit of land, expressed in equivalent tonnes of CO₂ per hectare and year. The tool helps project designers to estimate and prioritize project activities with high benefits in economic and climate change mitigation terms. The amount of GHG mitigation may also be used as part of economic analyses as well as for the application for additional project funds.

Key questions addressed:

• What are the effects of agriculture, forestry and land use projects on net greenhouse gas emissions?

Sample data inputs:

• Type of vegetation
• Previous land uses of the project area
• Total forest area before/after project
• Crop production technique types
• Enteric fermentation rates
• Land degradation rates
• Fire occurrence
• Soil degradation
• Peat extraction
• Fertilizer, lime, and pesticide usage
• Energy consumption
• Irrigation
• Road building

Sample quantitative outputs:

• Gross fluxes in greenhouse gas emissions

Access the Ex Ante Appraisal Carbon-Balance Tool (EX-ACT).

Resources:

EX-ACT technical guidance

EX-ACT quick guide

EX-ACT user manual

Project case studies

Policy case studies