Czechia is adopting green roofs to reduce the effects of climate change

The daily Hospodářské Noviny reports that an increasing number of property owners in Czechia are choosing to cover their roofs with vegetation systems, grass, or other plant species to reduce the effects of climate change.

According to the National Association of Landscape Architects in Czechia, the area of green roofs built increased by 250,000 square meters last year.

Installing green roofs is the most popular measure to counteract the effects of increasingly frequent heat waves in the region. The vegetation planted on roofs keeps the interior of buildings cooler by reducing heat radiation from the roof surfaces and also moderates the amount of rainwater flowing into the sewer system.

Among other benefits, green roofs mitigate the effects of the urban heat island phenomenon in metropolitan areas, where it is significantly warmer than in the surrounding rural areas. The newspaper reports that temperature differences measured on conventional and green roofs can reach up to 40 degrees Celsius.

Although the number of green roofs in Czechia is growing, it still remains low compared to other European countries, concluded Pavel Dostál of the Association of Landscape Architects. In Berlin alone, the area of green roofs is about 4 million square meters, in Vienna approximately 2.6 million. In Germany, building owners are incentivized to install green roof systems through subsidies that can cover up to 50% of the implementation costs.

One of the cities actively promoting green roof strategies is the Moravian capital, Brno, where recently 20 million crowns (~€780,000) were allocated for such projects. According to Michal Sedláček, Brno’s chief architect, approximately 8 million crowns have already been distributed among property owners.

Although the initial investment in eco-friendly buildings may seem daunting, the savings over time can amount to millions of crowns, said Libor Musil, CEO of a roofing company. Beyond reducing energy and sewer costs, green roofs also have positive effects on employees, providing a more pleasant microclimate.

Author: Ruth Fraňková
Photo: AxelHH, CC BY 3.0
Source: radio.cz