The Ex-Ante Carbon-balance Tool (EX-ACT) is an appraisal system developed by the Food and Agriculture Association of the United Nations (FAO). It provides ex-ante estimates of the impacts of agriculture and forestry development projects, programmes and policies on the carbon balance. The carbon balance is defined as the net balance from all greenhouse gases (GHGs) (expressed in carbon dioxide [CO2] equivalent) that were emitted or sequestered from project implementation compared to a business-as-usual scenario. EX-ACT can be applied to a wide range of development projects on climate change mitigation, watershed development, production intensification, food security, livestock, forest management and land use change.