As the weather cools, Europe’s energy crisis is forcing some people to turn to cheaper sources of heat.
Tudor Popescu swings his ax at a log, then feeds the split wood into a stove that heats his home in the capital of Moldova. As the nights grow cold, the pile of firewood grows around him – his equipment for the coming winter.
Popsco previously relied on natural gas in the mornings and firewood in the evenings to keep warm. But the gas is running out, causing a crisis in his small country in Eastern Europe.
“I’m not going to use gas anymore, so it will just be wood,” explained Popescu. “However, what I have is not enough.”
As the weather cools, Europe’s energy crisis, caused by Russia’s curtailment of natural gas flows during its war with Ukraine, has forced some people to turn to cheaper heating sources like firewood. However, as more people stock up on wood and burn it, prices have risen, shortages and thefts have been reported, and new scams have emerged. Foresters are inserting GPS devices into logs to track the valuable stock, and concerns are rising about the environmental impact of increased air pollution and logging.
Leaders in Moldova, a former Soviet republic, are worried this winter will be devastating for many of its citizens due to the high cost of electricity and heat, with natural gas prices in Europe roughly tripling what they were in early 2021 despite falling from August highs. Europe’s poorest country, with pro-Western ambitions but part of its territory controlled by Russian troops, saw Russian energy giant Gazprom recently cut natural gas supplies by 30% and threaten further cuts.
The demand for firewood is not limited to poorer countries like Moldova, but has also spread to wealthier regions of Europe. The state-owned forests of Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic see much stronger demand for the limited quantities of firewood they sell as part of their sustainable forest management.