Rooftops on new buildings built in commercial zones in France must either be partially1 covered in plants or solar panels, under a law approved on Thursday.
法国议会3月19日通过新法案，规定法国商业区的新建筑物屋顶须由植物或太阳能电池板部分覆盖。
Green roofs have an
isolating2 effect,
helping3 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 favoring 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
activists4 to make green roofs that cover the entire surface
mandatory5 on all new buildings.
The
Socialist6 government convinced activists to limit the scope of the law to commercial buildings.
The law was also made less
onerous7 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.
Green roofs are popular in Germany and Australia, and Canada's city of Toronto adopted a by-law in 2009
mandating8 them in industrial and
residential9 buildings.
收听单词发音 
