Climate change as a predictable surprise

In this article, I analyze climate change as a "predictable surprise": an event that leads an organization or nation to react with surprise, despite the fact that the information necessary to anticipate the event and its consequences was available (Bazerman and Watkins, 2004). I then assess the cognitive, organizational, and political reasons why society fails to implement wise strategies to prevent predictable surprises generally and climate change specifically. Finally, I conclude with a call to action and outline a set of response strategies to overcome barriers to change.