Bloomberg spoke about Europeans cutting down trees in cities for firewood

MOSCOW, 9 Oct — PRIME. Europeans, fearing a power outage in the winter, have begun to massively stock up on firewood – for this they resort to cutting down trees in parks, writes Bloomberg.

About 70% of heat in Europe is provided by natural gas and electricity, and due to a sharp reduction in supplies from Russia, wood, which is already used by about 40 million people for heating, has become a sought-after commodity.

“People are desperate for wood and they are buying more than usual,” said Trond Fjortoft, founder and CEO of Norwegian wood retailer Kortreist Ved. According to him, usually people start ordering firewood when it starts to get colder, but now deliveries began in June, when gas supplies from Russia decreased.

In France, the price of wood pellets has almost doubled to 600 euros per ton. Hungary went so far as to ban the export of pellets, and Romania limited firewood prices for six months.

What is happening in Berlin is reminiscent of desolation after the Second World War, the agency notes. Due to fuel shortages, residents cut down almost all the trees in the Tiergarten central park for heating.

The energy crisis is exacerbating rising living costs, and inflation in the euro area hit double digits for the first time in September. Disadvantaged households across the region are increasingly faced with the choice between heating and other necessities.