President Jacob Zuma has called on South Africans to do "extraordinary things" to address climate change.
Answering questions in the National Assembly on Thursday, Zuma said scientific evidence showed that the African continent would continue getting warmer.
He said as a "responsible global citizen" South Africa had ratified the United Nations' resolution on climate change and was working with the other nations of the world to address the challenge.
"A lot of climate change is going to be demonstrated on our shores," he said. "So the matter is serious.
"This has in fact gone beyond the expectation of scientists."
He said it was not true that South Africa wasn't doing anything about climate change.
"We are doing what we can. That's what we're doing," he said.
"We must do extraordinary things to mitigate what is happening."
He called for the acceleration of debate on climate and urged scientists and government to "pay attention".
Zuma said South Africa was committed to renewable energy.
"As we develop renewables, we are going to find ways to reduce emissions."