Ahead of the May 15 Arctic Council meeting, Secretary of State John Kerry warns that climate change is a fundamental security issue as well as an environmental and economic challenge, and says the Obama administration is committed to doing more to address it.

Secretary of State John Kerry said climate change is “a principal challenge to all of us of life and death proportions” that cannot be solved by any single nation.

“It’s not just an environmental issue and it’s not just an economic issue. It is a security issue, a fundamental security issue that affects life as we know it on the planet itself, and it demands urgent attention from all of us,” Kerry said in remarks with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt ahead of the May 15 Arctic Council meeting. Above, Reinfeldt (left) and Kerry sit across from each other.

To meet the challenge, the United States “needs to do more,” and the Obama administration is committed to doing so, he said.

“I come here aware of the challenge with humility but with great respect for what Sweden has been doing in leading on this effort,” Kerry said, adding that Sweden’s contributions to finding a solution have put the Scandinavian country “way ahead of the curve.”