Europe's energy crisis raises firewood prices, theft fears

CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — Tudor Popescu swings his ax down on a log, n feeds split wood into a stove that heats his home in capital of Moldova. As nights turn chilly, stack of firewood has been growing higher around him — his provisions for coming winter.

In past, Popescu relied on natural gas to keep warm in mornings and firewood in evenings. But gas is now in shorter supply, creating a crisis in his small Eastern European country.

“I won't use gas anymore, so it's going to only be wood,” Popescu said. "But what I have isn't enough."

Europe's energy crisis , triggered by Russia slashing natural gas flows amid its war against Ukraine , has forced some people to turn to cheaper heating sources like firewood as wear gets colder. But as more people stock up and burn wood, prices have skyrocketed, shortages and fts have been reported, and scams are emerging. Foresters are putting GPS devices into logs to track valuable stocks, and fears are rising about environmental impact of increased air pollution and tree-cutting.

In former Soviet republic of Moldova, leers worry that this winter could be devastating for many of its people because of high cost of electricity and heat , with European natural gas prices roughly triple what y were in early 2021 despite falling from August's record highs. Europe’s poorest country, with pro-Western aspirations but part of its territory controlled by Russian troops, has seen Russian energy giant Gazprom slash natural gas supplies by 30% recently and threaten more cuts.

clamor for firewood is not limited to poorer nations like Moldova but has surged across richer regions of Europe, too. Germany, Poland and Czech Republic's state-owned forests are seeing much stronger demand for limited amounts of firewood y sell as part of ir sustainable forest management.

Often it's coming from people who have never ordered firewood before and seem unaware that it needs to be purchased two years ahe so it can dry out enough to be burned in wood stoves, according to forest service in southwest Germany's state of Hesse.

German forest rangers also are seeing more people garing fallen wood in forests, often not knowing it's illegal.

Czech state forests, which sell wood only for household consumption, have h to limit amount of firewood sold to individuals to prevent speculative purchases.

In Poland, demand for small firewood from state forests grew 46% and larger firewood was up 42% through end of August from a year earlier. This was even before fall, when demand for firewood is highest.

“re is, of course, an increased interest in firewood in forest districts because today it is cheapest fuel available,” said Michal Gzowski, spokesman for Poland’s State Forests. “Small firewood is probably cheapest heating material in EU countries.”

He said ft of firewood, which has always existed to some extent, is rising.

To deter ft, forestry department in German state of North Rhine-Westphalia is experimenting with hiding GPS tracking devices in logs, spokeswoman Nicole Fiegler said.

re hasn’t been a sudden rash of large-scale fts, but recent price increases have stirred fears from small forest plot holders, who could face major losses if a stack of logs gets swiped.

“It’s more a situation of anxiety and fears,” Fiegler said, noting increased value of firewood.

Foresters in neighboring Hesse region have been using GPS trackers since 2013 and say y have been able to solve several fts that way.

Austrian police warned last week of a significant rise in fraudsters claiming to sell firewood and wood pellets online, while several companies across country were raided on suspicion that y h engaged in price rigging.

German Pellet Institute also is warning buyers to beware of fake sellers who demand payment in vance and n disappear.

Germany’s statistics agency says prices for firewood and wood pellets me from sawdust that can be used in central home heating rose over 85% in August from a year earlier.

Pellet prices per ton fell 2.6% in October but remain almost 200% higher than a year ago, pellet institute says. Even so, heating with pellets is cheaper than natural gas for those equipped to burn m, it says. Gas costs 20.9 cents per kilowatt hour of heat, while pellets cost 14.88 cents.

In United Kingdom, prices of firewood also are going up.

“We’ve seen a massive increase in demand” as energy costs rise, said Nic Snell, managing director of Certainly Wood, which bills itself as biggest firewood supplier in U.K. selling about 20,000 tons of wood a year.

Snell estimated that his company’s kiln-dried hardwood is 15% to 20% more expensive than last year and “could become more as wear gets colder.”

He said demand for his domestically sourced firewood was boosted by pricier imported wood from countries like Latvia and Lithuania. Transport costs, mainly for fuel, have pushed up price of imports, which used to be cheaper than British wood but are now more expensive.

In Denmark, demand for wood-burning stoves is growing along with firewood itself. Danish sales site DBA said searches for wood pellets have exploded by over 1,300% in past year.

government and environmentalists have warned Danes planning to burn firewood to consider risks: fire can be a hazard to health, while smoke contributes to particle pollution.

re is also damaging environmental impact of chopping down more trees.

Egzona Shala, he of an environmental organization in Kosovo, where electricity prices have spiked, says cutting of forest trees re has significantly increased. Her group, EcoZ, has been monitoring forests in mountainous areas and has found people illegally cutting trees at 5 a.m. in some cases. firewood is n sold around capital.

Often those cut are young trees. forests, she said, are being subjected to "vulgar deforestation without any criteria and control.”