Devolution, energy and climate change were just a few of the big issues affecting Wales addressed in the annual National Property Conference from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in Wales this week.

Cathy McLean, director of the RICS in Wales, said:

"The property industry in Wales is facing some of the biggest challenges it has ever seen and we must act now to try and find ways to allow our industries and economy to flourish. As we have seen in the Chancellor’s recent budget, the need to tackle climate change is fast becoming the priority for the government, and with ambitious targets from the Welsh Assembly Government to have all publicly procured buildings carbon-neutral by 2011, the issue of carbon-friendly and sustainable developments has never been more pertinent. 

"We have commissioned research into how we can meet our energy needs while still aspiring to developing our economy sustainably. The results of this research are due back soon, and as the conference showed, if Wales is to secure its future as a business nation, we need to take action now to tackle these issues head on."

Speakers at the conference, held at St David’s Hotel in Cardiff, included David Rosser, chair of CBI Wales, Mike Batt from the Carbon Trust Wales and Dr Calvin Jones from the Welsh Economy Research Unit.

The success of and challenges facing the Wales Spatial Plan were also addressed as part of the debate on the development of sustainable economy for Wales