**2. Materials and Methods**

The present study is focused on analyzing the environmental performance of four bioenergy transition strategies for household cooking in the Kisumu County (Kenya), considering the importance of biomass local resources for addressing the resilience of communities in the developing country context. The study uses some of the results from a previous energy modelling study [26] as input data to conduct a dynamic LCA. Although the study does not measure the economic and social implications of the di fferent transition scenarios, the design of the di fferent scenarios for the environmental assessment is based on the premise that the e fficient valorization and use of local biomass resources is an important waste managemen<sup>t</sup> solution [31]. Additionally, this study includes the application of woody agroforestry biomass systems, which are powerful tools to enhance access to energy and food, land restoration and sustainable livelihoods [18,39]. In Western Kenya, the sustainable use of biomass for cooking has an important role to enhance various ecosystem services through the creation of local businesses. Considering the limitations observed to collect social and economic data, the present environmental assessment serves as a first step for conducting a full sustainability assessment on advanced local biomass-based cooking transition options. The environmental assessment is focused on the relevance of introducing renewable energy systems in a developing region of Kenya in the context of the SDGs [10,41].

Considering the limited number of dynamic LCA studies applied to the developing region context, the present study focuses on conducting an environmental impact assessment of the bioenergy transition strategies previously analyzed in an energy modelling study conducted by Carvalho et al. [26]. In line with the previous study, the present research analyzes the environmental sustainability of the energy transition options in relation to a business-as-usual scenario for the time span between 2015 and 2035. The dynamic LCA approach considers the evolution of the household energy mix computed

in the LEAP model for that time span. The LCA results are presented for both the baseline and end years, considering the projections in the evolution of energy demand and supply until the year 2035, taking into account historical changes in the economy and demographic conditions in the Kisumu County. As in the LEAP study [26], in the present LCA study, the BAU scenario also considers that no policies will be introduced to mitigate environmental impacts of traditional cooking systems. The present LCA also considers the evolution of the household energy demands according to the following biomass/cookstove transition scenarios (Figure 1):


**Figure 1.** Overall description of the dynamic LCA method applied based on input data generated in the previous LEAP study (Original figure designed by the author).

The LEAP software results are used to conduct the LCA analysis based on the previous energy modelling task, i.e., demand driven (bottom-up) energy model, previously applied for providing energy and emission projections for policy analysis at the regional level [26,42]. The LEAP modelled results used in the LCA are based on technical data provided by the Technology and Environmental Database (TED) coupled to the LEAP software. In this case, the TED is used to calculate emissions from various types of energy systems in Kenyan households [42–44]. The energy demand results used consider the evolution in the household energy use and demographic conditions in the Kisumu County, including different uses of fuel/cookstove systems in the time span between 2015 and 2035 [26]. Considering that the present LCA study is based on the same scenarios as those projected in the previous LEAP study conducted by Carvalho et al. [26], this work also considers that policy measures should be implemented before 2035 to promote cleaner and sustainable solutions for renewable energy cooking.
