Traditional wood-based biomass encompasses firewood, charcoal, branches, leaves and twigs. Its importance in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is clear: over 90% of the population rely on firewood and charcoal for energy, especially for cooking [1,2]. Traditional biomass is especially prevalent amongst the urban poor and those in rural areas. Although urbanization brings people physically closer to centralized electricity systems, limited economic growth and job opportunities often mean that the majority of the urban poor are unable to access electricity and thus do not transition to using modern energy sources. This leads to increased demand for firewood and charcoal in urban centres [3,4]. As Figure 1 shows, the impacts of continued biomass energy use are felt across many sectors of society, such as health, agriculture, forestry, education, economy, trade, energy and environment. The important role and various impacts of biomass energy within rural and urban societies have not gone unnoticed, and many countries in SSA are now beginning to address biomass energy production and consumption seriously