For those that don’t know, the Stern Review is the report published today that has the headline figure of the global economy shrinking by 20% if we don’t take action on climate change immediately. Robin Knox Johnson (RKJ) is the first man to sail non-stop around the world single-handed in 1968/9 and, at 67, is doing it all again as part in the Velux 5 Oceans Race. So the immediate response to my question is not much.

However if one is looking for Zero Emissions transport (or as close as possible), it is difficult to find a better candidate than a sailing vessel. Once the carbon has been used to create it, a yacht does not have to create any emissions to get from A to B. There are of course a few challenges.

• Yachts don’t go that fast and the wind does not blow all the time. However for freight, in particular, decent management of logistics can mitigate the effects. This will need a move away from “just-in-time” to having strategic stockpiles of e.g. raw materials which can be seen in the reaction to latest oil crises. It is also worth noting that the technology that powers RKJ, Ellen MacArthur, Steve Fosset and others around the world in under 60 days has not yet been fully exploited.

• The Ocean is a dangerous place. This is why I linked specifically to RKJ in that he had to turn back to port late last week for repairs after being knocked down in a huge storm in the Bay of Biscay. He is acknowledged as one of the safest and toughest of sailors so it must have been bad. One his favourite quotes is that more people have climbed Everest than have been solo around the world.

I suppose my real point is that if we are going to get to grips with climate change these are the nature of the challenges we will have to meet and overcome. Flying will not be a option for much longer so we all may have to endure storm conditions at sea.

This gives me one last thought. Gale force winds at sea when in on yacht really impresses on you the power of Mother Nature and how precarious your personal hold on life really is.

Having been sailing in strong winds (about half of what RKJ had) myself relatively recently, I’d like to suggest that everyone should spend a night sailing off-shore in a gale. The government could pay for it as part of the “marketing” of “green” taxes.