TEHRAN- Germany has again been the scene of new protests against rising energy prices amid growing demands for more assistance from the government toward those with lower incomes as the frosty winter season coupled with a hike in fuel prices begins to bite. 

Organizers say tens of thousands of people have marched through the capital Berlin against the cost-of-living crisis and skyrocketing energy bills. The protesters are also demanding the government control food prices and increase taxes for the rich. 

Marching behind banners, one of which was decorated with the demand "Redistribute!", the demonstrators have heeded the call of left-wing organizations to protest against the soaring prices. 

Other banners said the current economic order "puts profits over people's needs" as price rises hit German household budgets as well as businesses. 

The country has lost its main source of energy after joining the Western sanctions regime against Russian energy exports, which cut all Russian gas supplies via the Nord Stream pipeline. Critics say the move backfired.

Germany had relied on Russian gas for more than 50 percent of its imports last year; by September this year, the Western sanctions on Moscow saw maintenance issues on the Russian pipeline which resulted in a complete halt to the pumping of any gas to Germany. 

That in turn has taken away from Germans a cheap gas bill that many middle-class households had enjoyed for so many years. 

The demonstrations against energy prices have, in some parts of the country, become a regular occurrence on a weekly basis. Protests recently took place in Berlin, Duesseldorf, Hannover, Stuttgart, Dresden, and Frankfurt-am-Main, with protesters holding signs bearing slogans on everything from lowering inflation to switching off nuclear power and more energy price subsidies for the poorer class. 

The government has already slashed its growth forecast for this year and predicts the economy will shrink further in 2023. It is forecasting a 0.4 percentage point contraction in GDP next year and has sought to mitigate surging energy prices by imposing a partial cap on the price of gas and electricity that will come into force in 2023. 

Many of the other mitigating measures in the EU's strongest economy, including subsidies for rail travel, have been forced to end. 

Germany is essentially struggling to find alternative wholesale energy suppliers with its "friendly" ally the United States charging "astronomical" prices for American liquefied natural gas. 

On Wednesday, some German economic experts proposed raising taxes on those with higher wages to help households struggling with their energy bills, but the suggestion was almost immediately rejected by the country's finance ministry, raising several eyebrows. 

Berlin has suggested some gas suppliers are profiting from the fallout of the war in Ukraine which has sent global energy prices soaring and a shortage on the global market, in particular among countries that are very dependent on gas consumption. 

"Some countries, including friendly ones, sometimes achieve astronomical prices [for their gas]. Of course, that brings with it problems that we have to talk about ... the United States contacted us when oil prices shot up, and the national oil reserves in Europe were tapped as a result. I think such solidarity would also be good for curbing gas prices," the German Economy Minister Robert Habeck says. 

The now more expensive gas prices have forced industry cutbacks and closures and municipalities are cutting back, with lower temperatures in swimming pools, and street lights turned off. Households are urged to use less energy, but many will nevertheless face huge jumps in their utility bills, despite attempts by the government to offset the price surge for consumers and companies. 

With the hike in fuel prices to heat homes and a lack of other viable options, Germans are faced with two options this winter. 

Either switch the central heating off or use firewood as was the case in the stone age and reports suggest that the latter is being taken into serious consideration as wood that can produce fire to heat homes has suddenly shot up in demand.

As with every product on the market, with increased supply comes increased sale prices, which may be the case but there are growing fears and anxiety among many that there will be no gas supplies at all this winter, hence the rush for firewood.
The demand for firewood has hiked in such a way that reflects just how serious the energy crisis could be this winter. The gas shortage itself has raised pressure on firewood suppliers to hike production amid dramatically increased prices for the product. 

Germany’s Federal Association of Firewood Trade and Production has said the average price of firewood has increased by about 30 to 40 percent at most dealers or about 150 euros per bulk cubic meter. Supplier also says they have raised their prices by about 40 percent for one store — about one cubic meter — of firewood. 

According to Germany’s Federal Statistical Office, in August 2022 the price of firewood and wood pellets rose 86 percent. The cost of some dealers' large pallets of firewood — about 360 pieces of beech wood — has doubled this year, from about 200 to 400 euros, including delivery, to their customers. 

In fact, demand has become so high that some suppliers stopped taking orders in July this year for the rest of 2022, while others are trying to arrange supplies and deliveries for next winter 2023. Some farmers and wood suppliers near Munich have statements on their websites, along the lines of "please don’t call us, we’re sold out." 

According to the German Environment Agency, wood made up 9.9 percent of the total energy consumption for private households in 2020, which includes households that may use wood to supplement other energy sources. Again, it’s an option that the energy crisis has made more necessary, to those who source it in the market. 

It is a difficult economic time for many countries across Europe as a result of the Covid crisis and the Ukraine war. More and more vulnerable people including single mothers and low-income families are showing up at aid organizations for food assistance, as they struggle to make ends meet.

One small charity group, Die Arche (a local children’s anti-poverty aid organization) told some media outlets, that the NGO supports more than 5,000 families from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and around 1,800 families in Berlin - 95 percent of whom are single mothers - in areas such as advice, food and leisure and educational activities. 

Its spokesman says that in the two decades he has been working in the city, he has never seen a situation as serious as this one. “We now have parents telling us that they are unable to feed their children meals at lunchtimes and so have started skipping meals so they have something to give them for dinner,” 

The spokesman added the charity, which has also seen a drop in private donations in recent months is expecting to see the number of families coming increase in the months ahead. 
According to government figures released on Friday, inflation in Germany is at its highest level in more than 70 years and hit 10.4 percent in October. 

It's not just Germany facing the challenges of a harsh winter, many nations in Europe have seen inflation reach record levels amid a shortage in energy supplies. Calls are growing louder for governments in Europe, where households are suffering the most, to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Ukraine and end the war to save a continent that is on the brink.