Thomas F. Homer-Dixon, CIGI Chair of Global Systems, Balsillie School of International Affairs; full Professor, Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo on Climate Shocks: Turning Crisis into Opportunity. Climate policy is gridlocked nationally and globally, with virtually no chance of a breakthrough under current conditions. Policy makers need to accept that societies will not make drastic changes to address climate change until a climate crisis hits. The recent financial crisis showed that when powerful special interests have convinced much of the public that what they are doing is not dangerous, only a disaster that discredits those interests will provide an opportunity for comprehensive policy change.