Carbon Removal from Green Roofs in Urban Communities: A Case Study in the City of Chania, Crete, Greece

Construction of green roofs on rooftop of buildings in urban areas has multiple environmental, economic and social benefits including the atmospheric carbon removal. Rooftops of buildings can be also used for the installation of solar photovoltaic and solar thermal systems generating green energy. The use of green roofs in buildings in Crete, Greece is very limited. The impact of green roofs and of solar-PV systems installed on rooftop of buildings located in the municipal unit of Chania, Crete, Greece has been examined. It has been estimated that green roofs remove atmospheric carbon through plants’ photosynthesis and contribute in carbon emission savings due to lower energy consumption in buildings. Additionally, installation of solar-PV panels on rooftop of buildings contributes to green energy generation and to climate change mitigation. Apart from climate change mitigation green roofs have multiple external environmental, economic and social benefits. It has been indicated that the impacts of green roofs to climate change mitigation are lower than the impacts of solar photovoltaics’ installation on rooftop of buildings. The multiple external benefits of green roofs indicate that their construction should be financially subsidized in Greece like in other EU countries. The findings could be useful to municipal authorities who should promote the construction of green roofs in urban buildings in their municipalities.