Novak said that the inhabitants of Germany began to massively stock up on firewood

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. File photoMOSCOW, April 15Residents of Germany, against the backdrop of a rapid rise in gas prices, began to massively stock up on firewood — as is the case with all of Europe, the search for alternative supplies to Russia often leads to the choice of the most outdated and non-environmental sources of energy, said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. «Today, in a crisis In this situation, Europeans are forced to resort to the most outdated sources of energy, for example, the people of Germany, against the background of the rapid growth of natural gas prices, began to massively stock up on firewood,» Novak wrote in his column for Energy Policy magazine.Europe predicted record inflation without Russian gasThe Vice Prime Minister noted that Europe itself created turbulence in the energy market with its sanctions against Russia. Now EU politicians have to urgently look for alternatives to Russian energy sources, often the least modern and environmentally friendly. Thus, they tried to reduce dependence on Russian gas in Europe with the help of coal, the price of which also increased. «The rapid return to coal generation is taking place against the backdrop of statements by the EU countries about decarbonization of the economy and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. According to the International Energy Agency, Global carbon dioxide emissions increased by an average of 6% to a record 36.3 billion tonnes in 2021. The US and EU led by around 7%. Novak. A noticeable increase in gas prices in Europe began last spring, when the average spot price on the TTF hub index fluctuated in the range of $250-$300 per thousand cubic meters. At the end of summer, the cost of a contract with «one day ahead» delivery exceeded $600, and in early October it was already $1,000 per thousand cubic meters. The price maximum of $3,892 was reached on March 7 of this year.