Death now a burning problem

Belgium faces a cost-of-dying crisis as rising energy prices hit funeral and cremation services. The industry also faces a squeeze because ofwage increases, which in Belgium are automatically indexed to inflation. Philippe Dussard, general manager of the Robermont crematorium in Liege, said energy bills for its ovens had quadrupled over the past year, from €9000 (NZ$14,700) amonth to €36,000 (NZ$59,000). He said an increase in customer chargeswas inevitable. Cremation is more popular than burial in Belgium, one of Europe’smost densely populated countries. In 2019, about 62 per cent of funerals involved cremation, rising to 74 per cent in 2020, partly because of a greater number of deaths and higher burial costs as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.