The subject of the 1998 annual o2 Debate was 'Factor 4', the most spectacular scenario for reducing the environmental burden to appear in the last 25 years. While its predecessor, the 1971 Report of the Club of Rome ("The Limits of Growth"), had little to offer in the way of solutions, 'Factor 4' presents an optimistic vision of the future with attractive and relatively simple solutions to environmental problems. A revolution in environmental efficiency enables us to do more with less, according to the book Factor Four; Doubling Wealth - Halving Resource Use. The New Report to the Club of Rome by Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker, Amory B. Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins.
The most attractive thing about the Factor 4 theory is that instead of costing more money, increased environmental efficiency costs less. While halving the amount of raw materials and energy we use, we can accumulate twice as much wealth. The use of suitable technologies and products enables a much more efficient use of energy and materials. Many of these technologies and products already exist today. Examples are low-energy light bulbs, video-conferencing, electronic books and drip-irrigation systems. Many more of them, such as hypercars and low-energy beef, can be developed.
The 'Factor Four' book has been translated into many different languages since it first appeared in 1995. It has had a tremendous effect on ongoing discussions about sustainability and technological development. The Dutch minister for environmental affairs, Margreet de Boer, has referred to it several times as a guideline for Dutch environmental politics.