France has approved a new law that mandates all new roofs in commercial zones to be partially covered in plants or solar panels. French environmental activists initially proposed that all new buildings be completely covered by foliage, but officials thought that would be too extreme for businesses. The new law is a compromise that allows developers to choose between partial green roofing or installing solar panels instead. France currently derives roughly 75% of its electricity from nuclear power. However, it is already a green-roof leader in Europe, with ten times more green roofs than Germany, which pioneered the modern green roof movement in the 1960s.

(Source: The HVAC&R Industry, April 2, 2015)