Pity they caved in into that last one - France has virtually no need for more renewables already being one of the cleanest countries on Earth and I suspect what will see is cheapest junk panels not even connected anywhere. Basic Business Regulation Dodging 101.France decrees new rooftops must be covered in plants or solar panels
All new buildings in commercial zones across the country must comply with new environmental legislation
Rooftops on new buildings built in commercial zones in France must either be partially covered in plants or solar panels, under a law approved on Thursday.
Green roofs have an isolating effect, helping reduce the amount of energy needed to heat a building in winter and cool it in summer.
They also retain rainwater, thus helping reduce problems with runoff, while favouring biodiversity and giving birds a place to nest in the urban jungle, ecologists say.
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.
Still, nice the wildlife will get some more habitat, maybe it will even equalize the destruction for more solar and wind farms. And no, this is not a joke, I remember city wildlife in chaotic People's state 30 years ago that couldn't afford all the pesticides, herbicides, lawnmoving, monocultures and other stuff and the contrast to today is rather... stark, to say the least. To see some birds that were common then you often need to drive into deep wilderness, still, even so, even that sad remnants still dwarf what you can see in virtually dead metropolies in West Europe
