In his opening address, the mayor urged that “bureaucratic obstacles” in the way of generating solar and wind energy, and suggested that those hindrances were “in fact based on political reasons”.

Karácsony said the city of Budapest could help condominiums “resume an ambitious trend … of an exponential growth in the utilisation of solar energy” once the red tape was removed.

He said the city’s poor finances did not allow for financing partially or in full such projects, but could provide services, such as planning or consultancy.

Once “bank interest rates are normalised” and the regulatory environment “offers opportunities” the municipality of Budapest could “do a lot for the buy-in of Budapest residents and have them participate in the energy revolution,” the mayor said.