How to Ensure the Energy Transition? - Energy and Climate: How to Achieve a Successful Energy Transition - page 130

A new project for the future society
The amplitude of change in lifestyle, combined with the introduction of
innovative technologies, will be such that it has to be considered as a new
project for the future society.
It has been proposed to call this new society the 'Factor 4 Society' [51].
New concepts for housing and transport will result not only in a
reduction in energy consumption but also in a better quality of life. The
introduction of more flexible transport means with the help of microelec-
tronics and more intelligent software will make their use more attractive
and help to reduce the use of individual cars. The desire to live in a more
pleasant setting will help to develop pedestrian districts. Liberating town
centres from pollution and noise resulting from car traffic will help to
create more concentrated housing, consuming less space and energy.
Further progress in telecommunications will help to limit the need for
physical moves. Looking for a more healthy physical condition will be
further motivation for discarding excessive use of the individual car and
will encourage the use of walking or cycling. It will favour also the
circulation of biological products, of better quality, obtained by using
less intensive agriculture.
In a society in which knowledge becomes more and more important,
cultural goods and services will become increasingly important. The value
of information is not linked to the quantity of resources it requires.
A single DVD disc can hold the equivalent of a whole library. The internet
opens the way to an almost unlimited universe of artistic and intellectual
creation.
Once our basic needs are satisfied, virtual worlds will be able to fulfil a
large part of our requirements for intellectual discovery and entertain-
ment, without any significant consumption of energy or resources.
The creation of value does not necessarily imply the consumption of
supplementary resources. Artistic values, the beauty of landscapes or
human creation can be appreciated at their real cost, even if it is difficult
to quantify.