New Commercial buildings in France Must Have Part Of Their Roofs Covered With Vegetation Or Solar Panels
Green roofs are already popular in Germany and Austria and even the City of Toronto in Canada has a similar by-law mandating green roofs.
A green roof acts as a buffer between the inside of a building and the hot and cold extremes on the outside thus reducing energy required for heating and cooling.
Green roofs also retain moisture from rainfalls thus eliminating runoff into storm sewers.
There is also a biodiversity issue, these roofs alow nesting places for various birds.
France has taken a first step on this issue.
The law approved by parliament was more limited in scope than initial calls by French environmental activists to make green roofs that cover the entire surface mandatory on all new buildings.
The Socialist government convinced activists to limit the scope of the law to commercial buildings.
The law was also made less onerous for businesses by requiring only part of the roof to be covered with plants, and giving them the choice of installing solar panels to generate electricity instead.
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