Some fact-checking would help
I was surprised to read that Copenhagen has passed a law requiring that all new buildings have green roofs, so I checked, and found that it hasn't.
I contacted Lykke Leonardsen, who is Head of Strategy for the City of Copenhagen's Technical and Environmental Administration. She said that:
It is true that Copenhagen wanted to have regulations demanding that all new building with a slope lower than 30 degrees had to have green roofs. However national legislation actually prevented such a regulation as the Danish Planning Law at the time did not permit a general regulation like that.
She added that: But the politicians are still very keen on green roofs and new projects are always met with an enquiry on the possibility for green roofs. And the government has just recently changed the national planning legislation making it possible for municipalities to have demands on climate change adaptation measures etc. in new projects.
We need a more sustainable built-environment, but sloppy reporting doesn't help the general case.
Rod Sweet
Editor
Construction Research & Innovation
