As gas and electricity prices rise sharply, many households in Europe are using firewood as an alternative heating source this winter. However, the rapid surge in demand and the reduction in supply from Russia are driving up prices and causing shortages, threatening to leave the most vulnerable citizens—who are often reliant on wood heating—out in the cold this winter.
“Regarding wood for energy, most EU member states are experiencing shortages, and pellet prices in Germany and Belgium, for example, have increased roughly 2.5 times,” a representative of Bioenergy Europe told EURACTIV. Furthermore, the rise in energy prices has led many EU citizens to turn to this energy source, the trade association notes.
From July 2022, a ban on the import of Russian pellets used for energy production came into effect. Sanctions on wood imports have also caused supply shortages and high prices, creating a ripple effect throughout the entire supply chain.
High prices are being observed across Europe, but Central and Eastern Europe may be more affected because many households in these countries, especially low-income households, use biomass for heating.
“Energy poverty is a serious threat this year, and people will die. Governments and the EU must protect them first and foremost and, if possible, take measures that would make households more resilient in the coming years,” Silvia Pastorelli, climate campaigner at Greenpeace EU, told EURACTIV.
In May 2022, the price crisis was already affecting Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania, where a large proportion of low-income households heat their homes with firewood. In Bulgaria, where about half of all households use firewood in winter because it is the cheapest and most accessible fuel, the price per cubic metre of firewood has risen from €40-50 in 2021 to approximately €100-150, depending on the specific region.
And although the latest data from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) show that firewood prices have remained stable during the war in Ukraine, reports from local media indicate a shortage of firewood and a price increase of more than 50%, with further price hikes expected.
In August, the civil society organisation Habitat for Humanity Hungary warned that if the government does not allocate more spending to firewood subsidies and take concrete steps to prevent private companies from buying up stocks, “catastrophic conditions” may arise.
In Poland, too, firewood prices are already nearly 100% higher than a year ago. Meanwhile, in Slovakia, depending on the type of wood, prices have on average doubled compared to last year. “In recent months, household demand has increased extremely. At some dispatch warehouses, waiting lists are full until the end of the year,” said Marína Debnárova, spokesperson for the state forest enterprise of the Slovak Republic, which is responsible for the country's forests.
The problem also affects Albania, Kosovo and Serbia, whose leaders have already called on the EU to help address the looming energy crisis
For example, in Albania, where firewood is needed to survive cold winters in some mountainous regions, a cubic metre of firewood is currently being sold for €60 (7000 leks), compared to €34 two years ago. “For a person who is not a pensioner, it is very difficult to afford to live with these prices; even an average person cannot afford it, they are forced to fall into debt,” a local Albanian resident told Exit.
In Serbia, about a million households use firewood, and more than 110,000 households use wood pellets, the prices of which have risen by 15% since 13 August. According to official data in neighbouring Kosovo, prices increased by 7.4% between June and July alone.
Government intervention and concerns over illegal logging
Many governments are taking measures to protect households, including banning exports and allowing more trees to be felled, but there are concerns that illegal logging may also become the solution.
In Bulgaria, the interim government organised meetings with timber companies and urged them to supply the population with wood by reducing exports. Although illegal logging is a criminal offence, the problem is widespread, and various studies indicate that the Bulgarian forestry administration is one of the most corrupt institutions in the country.
In Hungary, the government was forced to partially retreat from a decree adopted in August, which relaxed logging rules in protected areas and allowed younger trees to be felled in state-owned forests, now requiring that “the growing demand for firewood [must be met] primarily through the gradual harvesting of [alien species] acacia trees in the country”. The Hungarian government has also restricted firewood exports. While not yet a total ban, it gives the government the authority to control exports and the right to purchase fuel first for social purposes and public services, as well as the option to halt sales abroad entirely.
Meanwhile, Poland on Friday approved a so-called firewood allowance of PLN 1000 (€212) per household to help as many as two million households.