随着寒冬逼近，欧洲人再也坐不住了。受天然气供给限制、价格飙升影响，欧洲人开始“各显神通”寻求取暖的办法。不少人将目光投向另一种取暖物资——木材。据福布斯网站10月8日报道，在法国，一吨木屑棒的价格飙升至600欧元（约合人民币4154元），而在瑞典，均价近55000元的高端品牌炉具需要等上数月才能订购到。

 

Not far from Berlin's Tempelhof airport, Peter Engelke is putting up a new security gate at his warehouse because of concerns about desperate people pilfering his stock. The precious asset at risk is firewood.

在距离柏林坦佩尔霍夫机场不远的地方，彼得·恩格尔克正在给自家仓库安装新的防盗门，因为担心有人走投无路来偷他的存货。这些有被盗风险的珍贵资产其实是木柴。

 

Engelke's actions reflect growing anxiety across Europe as the continent braces for energy shortfalls, and possibly blackouts, this winter.

从恩格尔克的举动可以看出，欧洲各地对今年冬天能源短缺和可能停电的担忧与日俱增。

 

At a summit in Prague on Friday, European Union leaders fell short of agreeing on a price cap for gas amid concerns that any such move could threaten supplies to the region. As much as 70% of European heating comes from natural gas and electricity, and with Russian deliveries drastically reduced, wood — already used by some 40 million people for heating — has become a sought-after commodity.

10月7日在布拉格举办的峰会上，欧盟领导人未能就天然气价格上限问题达成一致，因为担心类似举动可能影响对该地区的天然气供应。欧洲70%的供暖系统依靠天然气和电力，而由于俄罗斯对欧洲的天然气供应急剧下降，木材已经成为抢手货。已经有大约4000千万人靠木材取暖。

 

Prices for wood pellets have nearly doubled to 600 euros a ton in France, and there are signs of panic buying of the world's most basic fuel. Hungary even went so far as to ban exports of pellets, and Romania capped firewood prices for six months. Meanwhile, wood stoves can now take months to deliver.

在法国，木屑棒作为最初级的燃料价格翻了一番，每吨接近600欧元，且存在抢购现象。匈牙利甚至禁止出口木屑棒，而罗马尼亚对木柴价格设置了半年的限制。此外，现在订购柴火炉要等几个月才能到货。

 

Aside from concerns about shortages, the energy crisis is intensifying a surge in living expenses, with euro-zone inflation hitting double digits for the first time ever in September. Strapped households across the region are increasingly faced with choosing between heating and other essentials.

除了担心供应不足外，能源危机还在加剧生活成本的上涨，9月份欧元区通胀率首次达到两位数。越来越多捉襟见肘的欧洲家庭面临在供暖和其他生活必需品之间的取舍。

 

"It's back to the old days when people wouldn't have the whole house heated," said Nic Snell, managing director at British wholesale firewood retailer Certainly Wood. "They'd sit around the fire and use the heat from the stove or open fire and go off to bed. There will be a lot more of that this winter."

英国木柴批发零售商Certainly Wood总经理尼克·斯纳尔说：“人们回到了没有全屋供暖的日子，需要靠近火坐着，靠炉子或篝火取暖然后再去睡觉。今年冬天这样的情况会更多。”

 

The trend has meant a boom in demand for Gabriel Kakelugnar AB, a manufacturer of high-end tiled stoves costing an average of 86,000 Swedish kronor ($7,700). The stoves can keep a room warm for 24 hours because of its intricate construction using different channels that hold and distribute the heat.

对于Gabriel Kakelugnar AB来说，这一趋势意味着订单激增，该公司是一家高端瓷片炉具制造商，其炉具平均售价为86000瑞典克朗（约合人民币55000元）。由于炉子的结构复杂，使用不同的管道来保存和分散热量，因此可以使房间24小时保持温暖。

 

"During the pandemic, people started to invest more in their homes. That has now of course escalated," said Jesper Svensson, owner and managing director of the company.

该公司老板兼总经理杰斯珀·斯文森称，“疫情期间，人们开始增加对家的投资，现在当然更是如此了。”

 

Orders have surged more than fourfold, and customers now have to wait until March for delivery, compared with as little as four weeks a year ago.

订单激增超四倍，现在顾客得等到明年3月份才能收到货，而相比之下，一年前等待的时间仅为1个月。

 

For many Europeans, the key concern is doing whatever it takes to stay warm in the coming months. The worry has become ever more pressing as the winter chill gets nearer, and the desperation for heat could create health and environmental issues.

对于许多欧洲人来说，他们最关心的是未来几个月如何取暖。随着寒冬临近，人们越来越担忧，而对供暖的迫切需求可能会引发健康和环境问题。

 

"We are worried that people will just burn what they can get their hands on," said Roger Sedin, head of the air quality unit at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, warning against poor ventilation and trying to burn wet firewood. "We can see very high pollution levels when you have people burning wood who don't know how to do it correctly."

瑞典环境保护署空气质量部门负责人罗杰·塞丁警告：“我们担心人们会把他们能烧的东西都烧了。当人们不知道如何正确燃烧木材时，制造的污染会非常严重。”

 

Particulate matter can end up deep in the lungs and cause heart attacks, strokes and asthma, he said, adding that the risk is particularly acute in urban areas.

他说，微粒物质最终会被吸入肺部，导致心脏病发作、中风和哮喘，城市地区居民面临的风险尤其严重。

 

Inexperience is also evident in Germany, where the country's association of chimney sweeps is dealing with a flood of requests to connect new and old stoves, and customers are inquiring about burning horse dung and other obscure fuels.

德国民众也十分缺乏相关经验，该国的烟囱清扫协会正在处理大量接通新旧炉子的请求，客户开始咨询有关燃烧马粪和其他不知名燃料的问题。

 

There are also signs of hoarding. In France, Frederic Coirier, chief executive officer of Poujoulat SA, which makes chimney flues and produces wood fuels, said some clients have bought two tons of wood pellets, when less than one ton is normally enough to head a home for a year.

还有迹象表明，有人在囤积木材。在法国，烟囱烟道和木材燃料生产商Poujoulat SA公司首席执行官弗雷德里克·科伊勒表示，一些客户已经购买了两吨木屑棒，而通常一个家庭一年需要的木屑棒不到一吨。

 

"People are desperate for wood, and they are buying more than usual," said Trond Fjortoft, founder and CEO of Norwegian wood seller Kortreist Ved. "Usually it happens when it starts to get cold, ‘someone says, oh we should order some wood.' This year, that started in June."

挪威木材销售商Kortrist Ved创始人兼首席执行官特隆德·福约托夫特表示：“人们迫切需要木材，他们比平时采购更多。这种情况通常发生在天气开始变冷的时候，有人说，‘哦，我们应该订购一些木材'。而今年这种情况从6月就开始了。”